Asked by: Max Wilkinson (Liberal Democrat - Cheltenham)
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 role of the hospitality industry in the upcoming industrial strategy.
Answered by Gareth Thomas - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Industrial Strategy Green Paper identified eight growth-driving sectors: Advanced Manufacturing, Clean Energy Industries, Creative Industries, Defence, Digital and Technologies, Financial Services, Life Sciences and Professional and Business Services. All sectors will benefit from wider policy reform through the Industrial Strategy’s cross-cutting policies alongside the broader Growth Mission. This will help create the pro-business environment for all businesses to invest and employ, and consumers to spend with confidence.
Government launched a licensing taskforce to reduce red tape and barriers that too often hold businesses back and we intend to introduce permanently lower business rates for retail, hospitality and leisure properties with a rateable value less than £500,000.
Additionally, we’ve announced a £1.5 million Hospitality Support Scheme to co-fund projects that align with Department for Business and Trade and Hospitality Sector Council Priorities, this will include helping those furthest from the jobs market into work and improving business productivity.
Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to her oral contribution in response to the question from the hon. Member for Bath of 9 December 2024, Official Report, column 651, what recent discussions her Department has had with the School Teachers Review Body on maternity pay.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy is responsible for the overall policy on maternity pay and leave, but how it applies in schools specifically is covered by the Burgundy Book, a national agreement negotiated with employers by the six teachers’ organisations.
Further information can be found on the Local Government Association website. The Department for Education currently has no authority or responsibility for the Burgundy Book.
However, the department has engaged with the School Teachers Review Body (STRB) on other challenges that could support teachers who find it difficult to combine work with family life, as in the oral contribution referenced. In the recently concluded 2024/25 pay round, we asked the STRB to make an assessment of any changes to flexibilities around Teaching and Learning Responsibility payments, concerning the existing pro-rata rule. We subsequently accepted in full the STRB’s recommendations. The government’s full response can be found here: https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-statements/detail/2025-05-22/hcws664.
From September 2026, these additional payments will be paid based on the proportion of responsibility a teacher carries out rather than their contracted hours. Early adoption is also encouraged from September 2025. This will improve equality of opportunity for part-time workers, better enabling them to move into leadership roles.
Alongside this, the department will be promoting flexible working in schools by adding reference into the school teachers’ pay and conditions document for the first time. This will make clearer to schools the expectation that they should be aiming to support flexible working requests where operationally feasible. This will better support teachers to stay in the profession, where they otherwise may have left.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if he will make it his policy to include the beer and pub sector in his Department's forthcoming industrial strategy.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Industrial Strategy Green Paper identified eight growth-driving sectors: Advanced Manufacturing, Clean Energy Industries, Creative Industries, Defence, Digital and Technologies, Financial Services, Life Sciences and Professional and Business Services.
Sector Plans for the eight growth-driving sectors will be published alongside the Industrial Strategy in Spring 2025, aligned with the multi-year Spending Review. The Sector Plans will set out the specific sub-sectors of focus, identify key barriers to growth, and describe how government and industry intend to achieve long-term growth for the sector.
All sectors will benefit from wider policy reform through the Industrial Strategy’s cross-cutting policies alongside the broader Growth Mission. This will create the pro-business environment for all businesses to invest and employ, and consumers to spend with confidence.
Asked by: Satvir Kaur (Labour - Southampton Test)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether (a) marine and maritime and (b) tourism and creative industries will be included in the Industrial Strategy.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Industrial Strategy Green Paper identified eight growth-driving sectors: Advanced Manufacturing, Clean Energy Industries, Creative Industries, Defence, Digital and Technologies, Financial Services, Life Sciences and Professional and Business Services.
Sector Plans for the eight growth-driving sectors will be published alongside the Industrial Strategy in Spring 2025, aligned with the multi-year Spending Review. The Sector Plans will set out the specific sub-sectors of focus, identify key barriers to growth, and describe how government and industry intend to achieve long-term growth for the sector.
All sectors will benefit from wider policy reform through the Industrial Strategy’s cross-cutting policies alongside the broader Growth Mission. This will create the pro-business environment for all businesses to invest and employ, and consumers to spend with confidence.
Asked by: Luke Charters (Labour - York Outer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of allowing the use of Look and Tell AI glasses for people with visual impairment.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
AI has the potential to transform everyday life, making services quicker, smarter and more efficient. Embracing AI will directly improve the lives of everyone by personalising services and supporting better outcomes, including those with visual impairments.
The AI Opportunities Action Plan sets out our plans to exploit the potential of AI to positively impact the lives of the British public. For example, the government is adopting a flexible “Scan, Pilot, Scale” approach and delivering mission-focussed national AI tenders to ensure effective and lasting adoption in the public sector.
While we deliver the Plan, we also encourage regulators to take a pro-innovation approach within their sectors, with the new Regulatory Innovation Office having an important role to play across all sectors.
We will continue to work closely with the AI sector and experts to ensure we are aligning innovative outcomes with our world-leading standards and expectations.
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of increasing the use of hydrometallurgical separation in the recycling of electric vehicle batteries to help facilitate the recovery of lithium.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government seeks to encourage sustainable critical mineral production and pro-cessing. As electric vehicle batteries reach the end of their economic life, there will be an opportunity and necessity to repair, repurpose, reuse, and recycle them. The chemicals sector will play an important role in recovering valuable materials like lithium, enhancing environmental sustainability, and alleviating pressure on primary supply
To this end, the Automotive Transformation Fund (ATF) aims to support the creation of an internationally competitive electric vehicle supply chain in the UK. It provides support to late-stage R&D and capital investments in strategically important technologies. This in-cludes unlocking strategic investments in battery recycling.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether she is taking steps with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care to tackle regulatory systems that slow down research.
Answered by Andrew Griffith - Shadow Secretary of State for Business and Trade
Government is committed to delivering a regulatory system that is pro-innovation, easy to navigate and facilitates commercialisation of science and technology applications, as set out in the Science and Technology Framework.
Regulatory systems for life sciences are led by DHSC, and its arms-length-body the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency recently launched a new, streamlined process for clinical trial applicants. The Department works with DHSC wherever appropriate on regulatory matters; for example, delivering the Government Chief Scientific Adviser's life sciences review and supporting on the wider implementation of the O'Shaughnessy Review into commercial clinical trials.
Asked by: Fiona Bruce (Conservative - Congleton)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps he is taking to ensure that non-statutory guidance on abortion clinic safe access zones around abortion clinics issued by his Department supports the human rights of people with pro-life views.
Answered by Chris Philp - Shadow Home Secretary
The Government respects people’s fundamental rights provided under Article 9 (freedom of thought, religion and belief), Article 10 (freedom of expression) and Article 11 (freedom of association and assembly) of the European Convention on Human Rights. The enforcement of abortion safe access zones must be compliant with the ECHR.
The Government has recently consulted publicly on the guidance. We are currently analysing all responses to the consultation, which closed on 22 January, and we will publish the final guidance in due course.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Independent - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to his Department's data release entitled Estimating the prevalence and costs of external wall system life-safety fire risk in mid-rise residential buildings in England, published on 17 May 2022, how many buildings estimated to require work to alleviate external wall system life-safety fire risks will be remediated through the Cladding Safety Scheme.
Answered by Lee Rowley
The end use of the Cladding Safety Scheme will depend upon individual decisions made by responsible entities on a building by building basis. Freeholders are responsible for building safety in their own buildings, including the use of the Cladding Safety Scheme, and there are strong safeguards and enforcements in place should they fail to do so in good time. Where buildings require cladding remediation and lack other avenues to support that outcome, we strongly encourage applications to the Cladding Safety Scheme, and are pro-actively working to ensure applications are made.
Asked by: Lord Warner (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answers by Lord Markham on 27 June (HL8632, HL8633), what is their response to the claim by the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry that international investors are "abandoning UK life sciences as excessive revenue clawback rates start to bite".
Answered by Lord Markham - Shadow Minister (Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Voluntary Scheme for Branded Medicines Pricing and Access (VPAS) payment percentages have been at or below those projected when the scheme was agreed. Recent increases to payment percentages reflect the scheme working as intended to adjust for increased sales of branded medicines to the National Health Service, which is the result of the positive access and uptake environment within the NHS.
The VPAS agreement was described as a “pro-innovation deal” by the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry who negotiated and signed the deal on behalf of the whole pharmaceutical industry in the United Kingdom.
There are several factors which influence company investment decisions in any country or region. Available evidence suggests that supply side factors, such as availability of expert scientific labour and favourable tax conditions, are of greatest significance in the decision on future investment. However, we understand that price regulation schemes such as VPAS may be a consideration in the decision to locate some investments, which is why we are committed to agreeing a successor voluntary scheme to VPAS that supports a strong UK life sciences sector.