Asked by: Will Forster (Liberal Democrat - Woking)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of Royal Mail’s three workers to four frames delivery model on service quality and staff fatigue.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Minister of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade)
The public rightly expects a reliable postal service, and Royal Mail’s performance has been unacceptable for too long. Whilst we welcome the impact the delivery model has had on Q1 2025-26 performance, we are disappointed to see the pause in further roll-out.
Royal Mail and the Communication Workers Union must urgently resolve the issues delaying reform. The government will continue to hold Royal Mail to account to secure a sustainable future for the postal service and ensure customers see the improvements they rightly expect.
Asked by: Will Forster (Liberal Democrat - Woking)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, whether he has made an impact assessment of Royal Mail’s new delivery model.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Minister of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade)
The public rightly expects a reliable postal service, and Royal Mail’s performance has been unacceptable for too long. Whilst we welcome the impact the delivery model has had on Q1 2025-26 performance, we are disappointed to see the pause in further roll-out.
Royal Mail and the Communication Workers Union must urgently resolve the issues delaying reform. The government will continue to hold Royal Mail to account to secure a sustainable future for the postal service and ensure customers see the improvements they rightly expect.
Asked by: Will Forster (Liberal Democrat - Woking)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, if he will take steps to respond to the Question of UIN 18923, tabled on 14 July 2026.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Minister of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade)
With sincere apologies to the member for the delay in a response, there was an administrative error during the machinery of government changes, and these questions were not appropriately transferred to the newly established Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade system.
I can confirm a response was published on 21 October 2026 and I thank the member for bringing this to my attention.
Asked by: Will Forster (Liberal Democrat - Woking)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, when he plans to respond to the Question of UIN 18922, tabled on 14 July 2026.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Minister of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade)
With sincere apologies to the member for the delay in a response, there was an administrative error during the machinery of government changes, and these questions were not appropriately transferred to the newly established Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade system.
I can confirm a response was published on 21 October 2026 and I thank the member for bringing this to my attention.
Asked by: Will Forster (Liberal Democrat - Woking)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of requiring AI companies to publish their training models.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Minister of State (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Technology)
The Government recognises that greater transparency about how AI developers train their models can support licensing, enforcement and creator control.
Our March report on AI and copyright committed to further work on input transparency. Since then, we have engaged extensively and continue to do so to understand what information is needed, what can feasibly be provided, and discuss best practice.
This will help establish what works and whether there is an appropriate role for government.
Asked by: Will Forster (Liberal Democrat - Woking)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, with which countries their Department plans to pursue new free trade agreements with.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade) (Jointly with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The UK Trade Strategy, published in June 2025, outlines the Government's priorities for the future of the Free Trade Agreement programme. Most recently, the Government has announced the negotiation of a Digital Trade Agreement with Malaysia. The Government has also launched a public consultation to inform the next phase of deepening the United Kingdom’s trade relationship with four global partners, including through their potential accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership: Indonesia, the Philippines, United Arab Emirates and Uruguay. Where decisions are formally taken to seek further Free Trade Agreements, they will be communicated to the House in the usual way.
Asked by: Will Forster (Liberal Democrat - Woking)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether he has made an estimate of the number of businesses which have stopped trading due to the extended producer responsibility scheme.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade) (Jointly with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Department has not made an estimate of the number of businesses that have stopped trading due to the extended producer responsibility scheme. The Department for Business and Trade is committed to supporting businesses to start, invest, grow and export through a range of measures, including improving access to finance, reducing barriers to trade, promoting investment, and providing practical support through the Business Growth Service and UK Export Finance.
The scheme is led by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and is designed to ensure that producers bear the full net costs of managing household packaging waste, thereby supporting increased recycling and a more circular economy.
Asked by: Will Forster (Liberal Democrat - Woking)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps his department is taking to increase the annual quota British car manufacturers can export tariff free to the United States of America.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
The UK remains the only country to have secured a 10% tariff for automotives within quota - saving hundreds of millions of pounds on UK exports annually.
We will continue to engage with the US Administration, and with the UK autos industry, on how we can best deliver for them.
Supporting the sector remains a priority for this Government, and we will keep industry informed to support business planning and future investment decisions.
The UK's landmark economic deal with the US will protect thousands of jobs, support key British industries, and help drive economic growth.
Asked by: Will Forster (Liberal Democrat - Woking)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if he will review the adequacy of current guidance for hospitality venues on the admission of assistance animals, including the distinction between fully trained assistance dogs and those in training.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Minister of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade)
Strong protection already exists in the Equality Act 2010, which places a duty on businesses and service providers to make reasonable adjustments to improve disabled people’s access to goods and services so they are not placed at a substantial disadvantage compared to non-disabled people. This reasonable adjustment duty is an anticipatory duty, meaning that those who provide goods, facilities and services to members of the public are expected to anticipate the reasonable adjustments that disabled customers may require, including auxiliary aids.
This could include allowing the use of assistance dogs so that disabled customers have the same access to goods and services and are not placed at a substantial disadvantage compared to non-disabled customers.
The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), a public body responsible for enforcing the Equality Act, has published guidance for all businesses, including service providers, on this subject. The guidance explains that assistance dogs should be treated as auxiliary aids and not as pets. The guidance makes clear that businesses and service providers should allow assistance dogs access to buildings where dogs would normally not be permitted whenever this is reasonable.
Asked by: Will Forster (Liberal Democrat - Woking)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and disability organisations on the recognition of assistance dogs not accredited by Assistance Dogs UK.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Minister of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade)
Strong protection already exists in the Equality Act 2010, which places a duty on businesses and service providers to make reasonable adjustments to improve disabled people’s access to goods and services so they are not placed at a substantial disadvantage compared to non-disabled people. This reasonable adjustment duty is an anticipatory duty, meaning that those who provide goods, facilities and services to members of the public are expected to anticipate the reasonable adjustments that disabled customers may require, including auxiliary aids.
This could include allowing the use of assistance dogs so that disabled customers have the same access to goods and services and are not placed at a substantial disadvantage compared to non-disabled customers.
The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), a public body responsible for enforcing the Equality Act, has published guidance for all businesses, including service providers, on this subject. The guidance explains that assistance dogs should be treated as auxiliary aids and not as pets. The guidance makes clear that businesses and service providers should allow assistance dogs access to buildings where dogs would normally not be permitted whenever this is reasonable.