Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many UK businesses are estimated to be part of the supply chains supported by UK Export Finance customers; and what plans the Government has to increase export-linked supply chain activity.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The recently published report by Oxford Economics, Analysing UKEF-Supported Supply Chains (which is available online at: Research and Analysis: Analysing UKEF-supported supply chains - GOV.UK), shows that exporters in UK Export Finance’s (UKEF’s) direct customer base support a further 115,000 businesses in supply chains throughout the whole of the UK.
The government’s ambitious Industrial and Trade Strategies, published last year, set out the government’s plans to support the UK’s supply chains.
Legislation is currently before the House to increase UKEF’s statutory commitment limit.
UKEF is also working with the Department for Business and Trade to ensure that businesses understand how UKEF can support them in taking advantage of new free trade agreements as they are agreed.
Asked by: Ben Maguire (Liberal Democrat - North Cornwall)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether his Department plans to undertake an assessment of the potential economic impacts on (i) Cornwall, and (ii) the wider UK economy, arising from capacity constraints in the commercial laundry sector during peak seasonal demand in areas with high levels of tourism.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government recognises that commercial laundries provide an essential service that supports the daily operations of the UK’s hospitality and tourism industries.
The Department for Business and Trade has not made a formal assessment, nor does it have any current plans to, on the contribution of the commercial laundry industry to the economy.
Asked by: Ben Maguire (Liberal Democrat - North Cornwall)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment his Department has made of the potential contribution of the commercial laundry industry to the economy.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government recognises that commercial laundries provide an essential service that supports the daily operations of the UK’s hospitality and tourism industries.
The Department for Business and Trade has not made a formal assessment, nor does it have any current plans to, on the contribution of the commercial laundry industry to the economy.
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how much annual grant funding was issued by the Aerospace Technology Institute (a) in total, (b) for Zero Carbon Emission Aircraft Technologies, (c) for Ultra Efficient Aircraft Technologies, (d) for Cross-cutting Enabling Technologies and (e) for Non-CO2 Technologies in each financial year since 2021-22.
Answered by Chris McDonald - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Aerospace Technology Institute (ATI) Programme is jointly delivered by the Department for Business and Trade (DBT), Innovate UK, and the ATI. The Department does not hold the detailed breakdown requested but can confirm the total value of grants awarded, including those relating to non‑CO₂ technologies (see Table). Information on individual projects funded via the ATI Programme, including award values, project leads and focus areas, is published by Innovate UK (link here). Individual R&T projects may undertake activity that falls across several of the categories requested.
ATI Prog. Grant Award (£m) | 2021-22 (Batch 35) | 2022-23 (Batch 36, 37, 38) | 2023-24 (Batch 39, 40, 41) | 2024-25 (Batch 42, 43, 44) | 2025-26 (Batch 45, 46) |
Total | 89.2 | 218.9 | 220.0 | 212.2 | 143.4 |
Non-CO2 Prog. only | - | - | - | 1.3 | 6.1 |
Asked by: Patrick Spencer (Independent - Central Suffolk and North Ipswich)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what data her Department holds on the number of farms that have become (a) insolvent and (b) ceased trading in the last three years.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The numbers of companies with Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) 2007 code 011, 012, 013, 014, 015 and 016 that entered insolvency in the UK in the last three years (2023 to 2025) are presented in the table below. This information has been provided by the Department for Business and Trade.
Calendar Year | Companies Entering Insolvency |
2023 | 63 |
2024 | 80 |
2025 | 67 |
The Insolvency Service’s Monthly Company Insolvencies Official Statistics Publication provides more information and a breakdown of SIC codes.
Information on business closures for farms is best obtained from the Office for National Statistics’ quarterly business demography publication. This release is regarded as ‘official statistics in development’. However, it is not possible to separately identify farm closures from within the published group which contains them, which is ‘Agriculture, forestry and fishing’.
Business closures in the UK for Agriculture, forestry and fishing from the first quarter of 2023 until the fourth quarter of 2025 are shown in the table below.
UK Agriculture, forestry and fishing business closures
Period | Business Closures |
Q1 | 1310 |
Q2 | 1260 |
Q3 | 1975 |
Q4 | 990 |
2023 total | 5535 |
Q1 | 1090 |
Q2 | 1525 |
Q3 | 1200 |
Q4 | 1055 |
2024 total | 4870 |
Q1 | 1885 |
Q2 | 1645 |
Q3 | 1355 |
Q4 | 1505 |
2025 total | 6390 |
Asked by: Michael Wheeler (Labour - Worsley and Eccles)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether his Department has undertaken work to identify which additional public services could be delivered face to face through the Post Office network; and whether he has discussed the potential expansion of such services with other departments.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
As set out in the Government’s Green Paper, the role of Post Office is changing, fuelled by significant changes in Post Office’s markets. Government will continue facilitating discussions around the future of cash and banking services, as demonstrated by the recent joint discussions held between the Post Office and the banking sector. The Department for Business and Trade will also work across government to explore opportunities to improve and enhance the delivery of in-person government services, and we have established a cross-government working group for this purpose. However, Post Office’s services are ultimately a commercial matter for the organisation and its partners.
Asked by: Michael Wheeler (Labour - Worsley and Eccles)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether his Department has considered the potential merits of the Post Office network hosting community banking representatives to provide in-person access to more complex banking services.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
As set out in the Government’s Green Paper, the role of Post Office is changing, fuelled by significant changes in Post Office’s markets. Government will continue facilitating discussions around the future of cash and banking services, as demonstrated by the recent joint discussions held between the Post Office and the banking sector. The Department for Business and Trade will also work across government to explore opportunities to improve and enhance the delivery of in-person government services, and we have established a cross-government working group for this purpose. However, Post Office’s services are ultimately a commercial matter for the organisation and its partners.
Asked by: Paul Davies (Labour - Colne Valley)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of the provision of data on employee health benefits to SME decision makers on levels of employee ill health.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) is working with the Department for Work and Pensions and Department of Health and Social Care on the Keep Britain Working Vanguard Phase, focused on tackling health-related economic inactivity and promoting healthy and inclusive workplaces. We are partnering with employers of all sectors and sizes, including SMEs, alongside employee health benefit providers, to test and identify what interventions are most effective in preventing and managing employee ill health. This will include exploring what support SMEs need to make informed decisions about accessing suitable health benefit provision.
Asked by: Victoria Collins (Liberal Democrat - Harpenden and Berkhamsted)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many UK technology company acquired by foreign buyers were of (a) pre-revenue startups and (b) companies with revenues (i) under £10 million, (ii) between £10-50 million and (iii) £50 million in the last three years; and what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of UK scale-ups being acquired before reaching their full growth potential.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The statistics requested are not readily available. The Department for Business and Trade is supporting the next generation of start-ups and scale-ups, aiming to create the UK’s first trillion-dollar technology business by 2035. The Industrial Strategy and Digital & Technology Subsector plan set out how we will achieve this. They set out a whole-of-government approach to the sector, reforming the business environment for digital and technology companies and addressing their needs for greater investment, skills, infrastructure, regulation and access to international markets.
Asked by: Victoria Collins (Liberal Democrat - Harpenden and Berkhamsted)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many UK technology startups and scale-ups were acquired by foreign companies in each of the last three years; and what the total value of those acquisitions was in each of the last three years.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The statistics requested are not readily available. The Department for Business and Trade is supporting the next generation of start-ups and scale-ups, aiming to create the UK’s first trillion-dollar technology business by 2035. The Industrial Strategy and Digital & Technology Subsector plan set out how we will achieve this. They set out a whole-of-government approach to the sector, reforming the business environment for digital and technology companies and addressing their needs for greater investment, skills, infrastructure, regulation and access to international markets.