Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, with reference to the Department’s press release entitled Joint Statement of 16th Meeting of the India–UK JETCO, published on 12 October 2026, what steps the Department is taking to inform small and medium-sized businesses in Essex about the tariff reductions and market access available under the agreement.

The Department is committed to ensuring businesses across all regions and nations of the UK can benefit from the UK-India Free Trade Agreement. Support for SMEs in Essex and across the UK is integrated into the Government’s existing business support offer, accessible through business.gov.uk, including practical guidance on the tariff reductions and other provisions of the Agreement. The Department also engages directly with businesses and business representative organisations to raise awareness of these opportunities, support utilisation and understand how the Agreement is working in practice.