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 civil servants in his Department are (a) on temporary contract and (b) consultants.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Information on the number of civil servants employed on temporary contracts is published quarterly by the Office for National Statistics as part of the quarterly Public Sector Employment statistics. Information can be accessed for September 2025 at the following web address:
Consultants are not civil servants and therefore, the response is nil.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what the net zero targets for their Department and its arm’s-length bodies are; and what guidance has been issued to those bodies on adopting net zero targets earlier than 2050.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Net Zero target in the Climate Change Act 2008, is a target for the whole of the UK, not individual departments or arms-length bodies.
Greening Government Commitments are the central framework setting out the actions UK government departments and their agencies will take to reduce their impacts on the environment, including setting targets to reduce emissions, during the framework period.
Defra are reviewing the Greening Government Commitments to ensure that they remain aligned with government priorities.
Asked by: Wendy Chamberlain (Liberal Democrat - North East Fife)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 12 December 2025 to Question 96733, how many of the EASI inspections carried out in Scotland in 2024/25 took place (a) on farms and (b) in social care settings.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Employment Agency Standards Inspectorates legal remit only extends to Employment Agencies and Businesses.
Therefore, EAS has no legal powers to conduct visits to farms or social care settings and has conducted no visits in the sectors queried.
EAS does however work closely with The Gangmasters Labour Abuse Authority (GLAA) and the Care Inspectorate in Scotland, who do have the necessary powers in the queried sectors.
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, what data the Fair Work Agency will collect and publish on breaches of employment law involving temporary and seasonal workers.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Fair Work Agency (FWA) will build on the data currently collated and published by existing labour market enforcement bodies.
The Secretary of State is required to publish annual reports that assess the extent to which enforcement functions have been carried out in line with the three-year enforcement strategies. These will assess levels of non-compliance and set out how the FWA will measure its performance. Both the annual reports and enforcement strategies will be laid before Parliament and the Northern Ireland Assembly and will be subject to parliamentary scrutiny in the usual way.
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, what measures will be used to assess the effectiveness of the Fair Work Agency in improving compliance with employment law.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Fair Work Agency (FWA) will build on the data currently collated and published by existing labour market enforcement bodies.
The Secretary of State is required to publish annual reports that assess the extent to which enforcement functions have been carried out in line with the three-year enforcement strategies. These will assess levels of non-compliance and set out how the FWA will measure its performance. Both the annual reports and enforcement strategies will be laid before Parliament and the Northern Ireland Assembly and will be subject to parliamentary scrutiny in the usual way.
Asked by: Justin Madders (Labour - Ellesmere Port and Bromborough)
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 reducing the decibel level of fireworks.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
No current assessment has been made on the merits of reducing decibel levels of fireworks. However, the Government is continuing to engage with businesses, consumer groups and charities to gather evidence on the issues with and impacts of fireworks to inform any future action.
The Government has also launched a public campaign on fireworks safety for the 2025-2026 fireworks season. The campaign highlights the availability of low noise fireworks and includes new guidance for those running community fireworks events and new social media posts that emphasise the risks from the misuse of fireworks.
Asked by: Andrew Griffith (Conservative - Arundel and South Downs)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what evaluation he has made of the effectiveness of reverse mentoring programmes in his department.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
DBT and its staff networks support a range of learning and development opportunities including a mentoring / reverse mentoring offer which is taken up on a voluntary basis. Feedback is encouraged from matched mentor/mentee pairs. Due to small numbers taking up reverse mentoring, there is no robust evaluation of effectiveness.
Asked by: Adam Jogee (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps he is taking to ensure that a) businesses, b) economic growth and c) higher education institutions in Newcastle-under-Lyme are impacted by trade deals.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
As the Honourable Member would expect, we do not direct the effects of individual Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) towards specific organisations within specific constituencies, nor do we monitor the way they are exploited in such granular detail. However, FTAs have an important role to play in delivering economic growth in all constituencies and all sectors. Through FTAs, businesses can benefit from tariff reductions, improved market access, and enhanced protections in investment and digital trade. The Department is working hand-in-hand with UK businesses to ensure firms have the tools and knowledge they need to seize these opportunities. If the Honourable Member knows of specific businesses that need assistance in exploiting our FTAs, he should approach the department and we will be happy to assist.
Last year we concluded trade negotiations with India and the Republic of Korea. Our assessments suggest these deals will have significant benefits across the UK economy and key industrial strategy sectors.
Asked by: Ashley Fox (Conservative - Bridgwater)
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 role of the UK-Morocco Association Agreement in increasing levels of cooperation and trade between the UK and Morocco.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Since the UK-Morocco Association Agreement entered into force in 2021, bilateral trade has been rising and reached £4.6 billion in the 12 months to the end of June 2025, an increase of 18.8% or £730 million in current prices, from the previous 12 months. The Agreement underpins bilateral political, economic and social cooperation and facilitates bilateral trade. The UK held the third Association Council meeting on 12 November, reaffirming commitments to deepen trade, investment, and collaboration on education, renewable energy, and security, in line with the step-change in relations following June’s bilateral strategic dialogue.
Asked by: Adam Jogee (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what recent steps have been taken to further develop trade links between the United Kingdom and Jamaica.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
This Government is strengthening trade with Jamaica through multiple initiatives. UK Export Finance has signed a Framework for Cooperation with the Jamaican government enabling us to support a range of critical infrastructure projects with substantial UK content, including the replacement of bridges across the country. My department also recently funded the first inward mission from the Caribbean life sciences sector, which included senior Jamaican delegates, to deepen collaboration and tackle barriers to trade. We are also cooperating on digital trade, with Jamaican firms forging partnerships with UK businesses through the UK Trade Partnerships Programme.