Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what meetings he has held with trade union representatives of retail workers in 2018.

The Government regularly engages with retailers and their trade unions. Since the start of this year, my rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State has met with representatives of Unite and the Trades Union Congress (TUC).

In addition, John Hannett, General Secretary of the Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers (USDAW) is a member of the Retail Sector Council which I co-chair with Richard Pennycook. The Retail Sector Council is a key forum for engagement between Government and industry and met for the first time in March. Sector Council members are working together to share best practice and boost the sector’s productivity and economic health.