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 steps the Government is taking to ensure businesses in Essex are aware of, and have access to, UK- Export Finance support.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
UK Export Finance (UKEF) has a network of Export Finance Managers (EFMs) around the whole country who are valuable points of contact for local businesses and can provide information on the range of support available. Contact details for the Essex EFM, and others can be found at: www.gov.uk/government/publications/find-an-export-finance-manager.
On 26 January, UKEF announced an £11 billion lending package from five high street banks to support small businesses’ growth. Alongside funding, businesses will also benefit from advisory support through banks’ relationship managers and the EFMs.
We do not hold details of the proportion of exporters supported at constituency or county level. Full details of the businesses supported by UKEF each year are published online at: UK Export Finance: business supported - GOV.UK.
The support that UKEF provides extends beyond its immediate customers. Recently published research by Oxford Economics (available online at: UK exporters boost economy, as new study reveals major impact of export credit on UK industry - GOV.UK) shows that there are 115,000 businesses in the supply chains of businesses directly supported by UKEF.
Asked by: Roz Savage (Liberal Democrat - South Cotswolds)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps he is taking to support small pub landlords.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
We regularly meet with pub landlords and only last week we held a roundtable with the British Institute for Innkeeping and some of their members.
We are taking decisive action to support pubs and recently announced an additional 15% cut for pubs on top of the permanent reduction in the business rates multiplier for eligible retail, hospitality and leisure properties announced at the budget. We are also providing £4.3 billion over three years to protect ratepayers from sharp rises in rateable values as well as launching a review of how pubs and hotels are valued for business rates.
Alongside this, we have doubled the Hospitality Support Fund to £10 million and will bring forward a new High Streets Strategy later this year to help reinvigorate our communities.
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, pursuant to the Answer of 2 February 2026 to Question 108798 what the British Business Bank’s total programme expenditure, staffing costs, and consultancy and professional services costs were in 2024–25, broken down by programme or business line.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The British Business Bank’s total staffing costs in 2024-25 were £71.591 million. In the same year, the BBB incurred total expenditure of £26.456 million on professional fees. These comprise fees relating to investment scheme design and transactions and other operational professional services.
A breakdown by business line is provided below, taken from the British Business Bank’s annual report and accounts for the year ended 31 March 2025.
All figures in £ '000 | Staff costs | Professional services |
British Business Finance | 2,089 | 186 |
British Business Investments | 2,588 | 3,157 |
British Patient Capital | 4,616 | 643 |
Nations and Regions Investments | 1,283 | 16 |
Start Up Loans | 4,100 | 253 |
BBB Investment Services | 169 | 17 |
Company plc, Holdings and British Business Financial Services | 56,746 | 22,184 |
Total group | 71,591 | 26,456 |
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, pursuant to the Answer of 30 January 2026 to Question 107769, what estimate he has made to the Insolvency Service of compliance with Net Zero, sustainability and climate-related disclosure requirements.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
I have made no such assessment, however the Insolvency Service’s total emissions have been reported in the Agency’s Annual Report and Accounts since 2012/13. Progress on wider sustainability requirements is reported quarterly to the Department for Business and Trade through the Agency’s Greening Government Commitment (GGC) returns. The Agency adheres to the Greening Government Commitments and the Taskforce on Climate Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) guidance.
Asked by: Antonia Bance (Labour - Tipton and Wednesbury)
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 impact of the Motability Scheme on supporting the British automotive industry.
Answered by Chris McDonald - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Motability has stated that its aim is for 50% of all scheme vehicles leased from 2035 to be manufactured in the UK. We are committed to the growth of the automotive sector in the UK through investment in innovation, research & development and skills. Our flagship DRIVE35 (Driving Research and Investment in Vehicle Electrification) initiative will support the latest R&D in strategic vehicle technologies, accelerate their commercial scale-up, and unlock investment in their industrialisation. As part of this ambitious programme, we are committing £4 billion of capital and R&D funding to the British automotive industry through to 2035.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether he plans to bring forwards an alternative to the Audit Reform and Corporate Governance Bill.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The UK is a world leader in audit quality and corporate governance. We will bolster this further by launching a consultation to modernise, simplify and streamline the UK's corporate reporting framework, with the ambition to make the UK's reporting regime the most proportionate in the world. We also intend to legislate to put the Financial Reporting Council on a proper statutory footing when parliamentary time allows.
Asked by: James Naish (Labour - Rushcliffe)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps he has taken to ensure that employment protections for pregnant employees are legally enforceable.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The government is committed to ensuring pregnancy and maternity protections are effective and enforceable.
We recently consulted on legislation to make it unlawful to dismiss pregnant women, mothers on Maternity Leave, and for at least six months after they return to work, except in specific circumstances. We sought ideas to improve awareness of workplace rights, so pregnant employees feel confident to challenge unlawful treatment and hold employers to account.
To strengthen enforcement, we are also extending the Employment Tribunal time limit from three to six months, giving pregnant women more time to bring claims.
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 proportion of UK Export Finance-supported exporters are based in (a) the South Basildon and East Thurrock constituency, and (b) Essex.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
UK Export Finance (UKEF) has a network of Export Finance Managers (EFMs) around the whole country who are valuable points of contact for local businesses and can provide information on the range of support available. Contact details for the Essex EFM, and others can be found at: www.gov.uk/government/publications/find-an-export-finance-manager.
On 26 January, UKEF announced an £11 billion lending package from five high street banks to support small businesses’ growth. Alongside funding, businesses will also benefit from advisory support through banks’ relationship managers and the EFMs.
We do not hold details of the proportion of exporters supported at constituency or county level. Full details of the businesses supported by UKEF each year are published online at: UK Export Finance: business supported - GOV.UK.
The support that UKEF provides extends beyond its immediate customers. Recently published research by Oxford Economics (available online at: UK exporters boost economy, as new study reveals major impact of export credit on UK industry - GOV.UK) shows that there are 115,000 businesses in the supply chains of businesses directly supported by UKEF.
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: Lord Foster of Bath (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they consider social media influencers who promote consumer products through paid, sponsored or affiliate content to be economic operators; and whether they plan to use powers under the Product Regulation and Metrology Act 2025 to regulate promotion by influencers of unsafe or non-compliant products.
Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Product Regulation and Metrology Act 2025 contains provisions that ensure the full breadth of supply chain actors can be captured appropriately by regulations. This includes social media influencers where they are carrying out activities in relation to a product. This allows Government to introduce obligations on actors that are proportionate to those actors’ level of control in supply chains.
As announced at Budget, Government will consult in early 2026 on major reforms to the product safety legislative framework to ensure that it reflects the realities of modern products and supply chains.