Asked by: Justin Madders (Labour - Ellesmere Port and Neston)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether any ministerial redundancy payments have been repaid to her Department since 2019.
Answered by Alan Mak - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade) (jointly with the Cabinet Office)
It has not proved possible to respond to the Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what the cost to the public purse of staff diversity networks in her Department was in each of the last five years.
Answered by Alan Mak - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade) (jointly with the Cabinet Office)
It has not proved possible to respond to the Rt Hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether Ministers in her Department have met representatives of Black Lives Matter UK in the last five years.
Answered by Alan Mak - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade) (jointly with the Cabinet Office)
It has not proved possible to respond to the Rt Hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Lord Weir of Ballyholme (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what progress they have made in supporting small and medium-sized enterprises to do business in the USA, following the UK–U.S. Small and Medium-Sized Enterprise Dialogue that took place in Belfast on 16 April.
Answered by Lord Offord of Garvel - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) are the backbone of the UK-U.S. trading relationship. In 2023, businesses in Northern Ireland alone exported goods worth over £1.5 million to the U.S. The SME Dialogue in Belfast reflects the ongoing commitment from both countries to enhancing UK-U.S. SME trade.
Over 85 SMEs, including many from Northern Ireland, participated in the recent Dialogue in Belfast where the UK and U.S. Intellectual Property (IP) toolkits, to help SMEs protect their IP. The Department for Business and Trade have previously launched toolkits on Doing Business in the U.S. and an E-Commerce Guide for SMEs selling online to the U.S.
The department is committed to supporting SMEs to grow and export, with a dedicated Export Support Service. The Export Academy helps SMEs access free training programmes, 1:1 guidance from International Trade Advisers and in-market insight from teams around the world, including in the U.S.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether she has taken steps to promote cultural relations between the UK and the Republic of North Macedonia.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport promotes cultural relations around the world, working closely with the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, the Department for Business & Trade, and the British Council to ensure that culture and the creative industries are embedded in the UK’s diplomatic activities and that the importance of these sectors – which contribute so much to our economy, our way of life, and our international reputation – are properly reflected.
The British Embassy in Skopje has prioritised the promotion of bilateral cultural relations and continues to build links with local cultural institutions and artists, particularly those with connections to the UK.
The British Council promotes exchange between the Western Balkans and the UK’s education sector and creative industries, and supports people and institutions in developing enterprising cultural offerings. In May, for instance, the British Council hosted a conference in North Macedonia for 200 English teachers on the future of English.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many and what proportion of (a) cars and (b) other vehicles used by her Department were made in Britain.
Answered by Alan Mak - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade) (jointly with the Cabinet Office)
The Government Car service (GCS) provides vehicles to a number of Government departments. Due to logistical and operational reasons the type of vehicles deployed at each department can vary on a daily or weekly basis. The GCS fleet currently has 122 vehicles, 58 (48%) of which are vehicles made in Britain.
Asked by: Thérèse Coffey (Conservative - Suffolk Coastal)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps her Department is taking to promote (a) international trade and (b) investment opportunities for businesses based in Suffolk.
Answered by Alan Mak - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade) (jointly with the Cabinet Office)
The Department for Business and Trade works with local stakeholders to promote trade and investment opportunities. Businesses in Suffolk can access the Department's range of export support services through great.gov.uk. This includes online learning and information, the Export Academy, our network of International Trade Advisers, and our International Market Advisors in overseas regions. UK Export Finance also has a network of export finance managers and coverage includes Suffolk.
The Department works in partnership with other Government Departments and locally to attract potential investors and provide support for foreign investors wishing to invest in the area.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what data her Department holds on trends in the volume of British food exports to Asia over the last five years; and what steps her Department is taking to help support growth in that sector.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Department for Business and Trade offers Export Support Service, online guidance via the GREAT.gov.uk platform, the Export Academy programme, UK Export Finance and a network of trade advisers across England, the nations and overseas, to support businesses to maximise their exports.The department also provides a compelling programme of support for food exporters to connect with buyers through tradeshows and missions; for example, the upcoming UK Pavilion at Thaifex-Anuga, Bangkok (28 May - 1 June).
The department holds data provided by HMRC on food exports (see below).
HMRC: UK exports of Food, Feed & Drink (FFD)
VOLUME
Year | All UK exports | Exports to Asia (Million tonnes) | Proportion exported to Asia |
2019 | 15.3 | 1.50 | 10% |
2020 | 13.5 | 1.37 | 10% |
2021 | 11.0 | 1.30 | 12% |
2022 | 12.5 | 1.35 | 11% |
2023 | 11.9 | 1.16 | 10% |
VALUE
Year | All UK exports | Exports to Asia (£ billion) | Proportion exported to Asia |
2019 | 23.7 | 3.9 | 16% |
2020 | 21.7 | 3.4 | 16% |
2021 | 20.3 | 3.7 | 18% |
2022 | 24.9 | 4.7 | 19% |
2023 | 24.4 | 4.6 | 19% |
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if she will publish an itemised table of the primary imports from the Republic of North Macedonia.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Department for Business and Trade publish trade and investment factsheets summarising statistics on trade and investment between the UK and individual overseas partners, including North Macedonia. A table of the top goods imported from North Macedonia are provided on page 6 of the factsheet. More detailed statistics on UK imports from North Macedonia are published by the ONS.
Asked by: Lord Goodman of Wycombe (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what action they are taking to help potential claimants to obtain access to justice in cases of wrongful dismissal.
Answered by Lord Bellamy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Employment Tribunals are responsible for hearing employment related disputes, including those related to unfair and wrongful dismissal. They provide an accessible and low-cost avenue for claimants, designed to be navigated without requiring legal representation.
Working with the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) and HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS), we have taken a number of steps to improve the capacity and efficiency of the Employment Tribunals, including the deployment of legal caseworkers, the recruitment of additional judges, and the establishment, by the judiciary, of an Employment Tribunal virtual region. Last month, we also made a small number of changes to the Employment Tribunal procedure rules which will support the implementation of a new reformed digital system, currently being developed and tested in four early adopter sites ahead of national rollout during the course of this year. Following these rule changes, we transferred the Employment Tribunal rule-making power to the Tribunal Procedure Committee (TPC) - an independent rule-making committee. Given the TPC’s expertise and experience, this transfer will improve efficiency in the making and amending of Employment Tribunal rules, to further enhance access to justice for all claimants. We continue to work with DBT and HMCTS on further measures to support the Employment Tribunals.