Andrew Griffith

Contracts are established between the supplier and the individual contracting authority.

Details of ministers’ meetings with external individuals and organisations are published quarterly in arrears on GOV.UK. Data for the period of July to September 2024 will be published shortly.

To be eligible for statutory paternity leave, Cabinet Office policy currently requires employees to meet a series of qualifying conditions, including the requirement to have worked continuously for the Civil Service for at least 26 weeks by the 15th week before the date the baby is due.

As with any changes to employment legislation, internal policies and processes will be updated as appropriate in line with the Government’s legislation on employment rights. .

The last public bodies landscape, a publication showing spend and headcount data of arms length bodies, was last published for 2019/20. An updated version of this publication, covering data from 2022-23, will be published on gov.uk in due course.

In accordance with the Civil Service policy for Permanent Secretary roles, the DBT Second Permanent Secretary was appointed for a period of five years (August 2017 - August 2022). The period of appointment was subsequently extended to December 2024.

The statutory basis for the management of the Civil Service is set out in the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010. The Act requires the Civil Service Commission, which is independent of Government, to publish a set of principles to be applied for the purposes of appointing civil servants on merit on the basis of fair and open competition. The recruitment principles are published here:

https://civilservicecommission.independent.gov.uk/publications/recruitment-guidance/

Staff recruited by the Civil Service Commission are employed by the Cabinet Office and seconded to the Commission for the duration of the time in their role. The Civil Service Commission is independent; its staff operate under the direction of the First Civil Service Commissioner and the Civil Service Commissioners.

As Cabinet Office employees, staff in the Civil Service Commission are subject to Cabinet Office contractual terms and conditions (for example in relation to salary and leave entitlements) and are supported in the application of these by the Cabinet Office's corporate functions.

The Civil Service Commission (CSC) is an executive non-departmental public body established in statute by the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act (2010) to provide assurance that civil servants are selected on merit on the basis of fair and open competition and to help safeguard an impartial Civil Service. The Commission is independent of Government and of the Civil Service.

The Commission acts in accordance with its legislation and takes direction from the independent First Civil Service Commissioner and the independent Civil Service Commissioners, who are appointed on merit on the basis of fair and open competition following the principles set out in the CSC’s Recruitment Principles and in accordance with the Governance Code on Public Appointments.

The Civil Service Commission (CSC) is an executive non-departmental public body established in statute by the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act (2010). The Commission is independent.

The Cabinet Office, through the Propriety and Constitution Group, sponsors the Civil Service Commission and has appropriate sponsorship arrangements in place to carry out this function whilst safeguarding its independence. The governance and accountability arrangements for the Commission are set out in its ‘Governance Statement’ in the latest Annual Report and Accounts, which can be found here - https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/civil-service-commission-annual-report-and-accounts-202223

The published Civil Service Commission 2022/2023 Annual Report shows the current Interim Chief Executive began the role on 15 May 2023. An external recruitment process to appoint a permanent Chief Executive was launched in May 2024 and is expected to conclude in September 2024.

The Civil Service Commission is the independent regulator of Civil Service recruitment and carries out its functions independently of Government and in line with the provisions of the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010.

On Friday 30 August the Civil Service Commissioner wrote to departments, including the CO, to say that they would carry out a short review of appointments made by exception since 1 July.

The government has announced that it will introduce new measures to end the scourge of ticket touting and put fans back at the heart of live events, including a resale price cap.

Our consultation revealed widespread support for a price cap from fans, industry and consumer groups. After thorough consultation, we intend to draw on all the evidence we have gathered – including insights on international comparisons – to prepare legislation that is targeted and effective.

We will legislate when Parliamentary time allows, and an impact assessment, including an assessment of economic impacts, will be published when legislation is introduced to Parliament.

This government remains committed to delivering up to £2.5bn for steel which is being delivered in part through the National Wealth Fund (NWF). This is in addition to £500m for the Tata Steel transformation project in Port Talbot.

The NWF has £5.8bn of capital to allocate across five clean energy and advanced manufacturing sectors, including steel. The NWF operates independently and is open to steel companies across the UK, offering a transparent and strategic route for investment that supports the government’s growth mission. We encourage any steel companies interested in seeking support to contact the NWF directly.

To date, the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) has provided British Steel with £274m for working capital, covering approximately 33% of raw material purchases, payroll costs and other operating expenditure. British Steel revenues have funded the remaining 67% of costs. It is anticipated that the Government will need to make a similar contribution for the remainder of fiscal year. However actual sums are susceptible to wider macroeconomic factors and the ratio of British Steel revenue to DBT funding is therefore subject to change.

Officials in my department, led by my Chief Strategic Business Advisor, have been in close contact with Jingye and were last in correspondence with them on 21 October. All parties continue to work at pace to find a pragmatic, realistic solution for the future of British Steel.

An impact assessment relating to the Steel Industry (Special Measures) Act 2025 was submitted on 3 November. It will be published in due course following Regulatory Policy Committee scrutiny.

To date, the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) has provided British Steel with £274m for working capital, covering approximately 33% of raw material purchases, payroll costs and other operating expenditure. British Steel revenues have funded the remaining 67% of costs. It is anticipated that the Government will need to make a similar contribution for the remainder of fiscal year. However actual sums are susceptible to wider macroeconomic factors and the ratio of British Steel revenue to DBT funding is therefore subject to change.

Officials in my department, led by my Chief Strategic Business Advisor, have been in close contact with Jingye and were last in correspondence with them on 21 October. All parties continue to work at pace to find a pragmatic, realistic solution for the future of British Steel.

An impact assessment relating to the Steel Industry (Special Measures) Act 2025 was submitted on 3 November. It will be published in due course following Regulatory Policy Committee scrutiny.

To date, the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) has provided British Steel with £274m for working capital, covering approximately 33% of raw material purchases, payroll costs and other operating expenditure. British Steel revenues have funded the remaining 67% of costs. It is anticipated that the Government will need to make a similar contribution for the remainder of fiscal year. However actual sums are susceptible to wider macroeconomic factors and the ratio of British Steel revenue to DBT funding is therefore subject to change.

Officials in my department, led by my Chief Strategic Business Advisor, have been in close contact with Jingye and were last in correspondence with them on 21 October. All parties continue to work at pace to find a pragmatic, realistic solution for the future of British Steel.

An impact assessment relating to the Steel Industry (Special Measures) Act 2025 was submitted on 3 November. It will be published in due course following Regulatory Policy Committee scrutiny.

The UK has been negotiating a modern and ambitious free trade agreement with the Gulf Cooperation Council to boost economic growth, raise wages, and increase investment since June 2022. Negotiations have now reached an advanced stage, with both sides working hard and at pace to resolve the remaining issues. As the Honorable Member should know, timetables can be counter-productive when seeking to agree a trade deal and can lead to perverse outcomes. We are focused on securing the right deal that delivers growth and offers real benefits to British businesses and investors, rather than getting it done by a specific date.

The UK Government acted quickly to prioritise rapid support for Jaguar Land Rover’s operations, with a partial guarantee for a commercial loan, through UK Export Finance (UKEF)’s Export Development Guarantee.

We are not able to comment on the detail of current transactions for reasons of commercial sensitivity.

We are in active dialogue with the European Commission to fully understand the details of their proposal and next steps.

The government is also working closely with UK industry, including through a roundtable with industry held on the 9 October, to understand potential impacts and solutions, and to assess how best to secure the UK’s supply chains in light of these developments.

As ever, this government will always put the UK’s national interest first, and is committed to defending our critical steel industry, protecting skilled jobs and supporting economic growth as part of our Plan for Change. We reserve the right to take any action in response to any changes to our trading relationships.

We will do so as soon as possible once the Trade and Agriculture Commission have provided advice on the agreement, which will enable us to produce the necessary Section 42 report, and trigger the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act process thereafter.

In recent months, Ministers and officials have had short, factual discussions with the Government of the People’s Republic of China regarding British Steel Limited, most recently during the Business & Trade Secretary’s visit to China on 10-11 September.

We continue to engage directly with British Steel’s owner to find the best solution for the Scunthorpe site.

In recent months, Ministers and officials have had short, factual discussions with the Government of the People’s Republic of China regarding British Steel Limited, most recently during the Business & Trade Secretary’s visit to China on 10-11 September.

We continue to engage directly with British Steel’s owner to find the best solution for the Scunthorpe site.

The UK-China Industrial Decarbonisation Working Group will focus on accelerating decarbonisation of UK and Chinese industry, and identifying opportunities for commercial collaboration in relevant subsectors linked to industrial decarbonisation, such as CCUS.

Further discussion on areas of focus will take place at the first meeting.

The UK-China Industrial Decarbonisation Working Group will comprise officials from the Department for Business and Trade and China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

Agreement to establish a UK-China Industrial Decarbonisation Working Group was an outcome of the Industrial Cooperation Dialogue between the Department of Business and Trade and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, which took place on Wednesday 10 September 2025.

Discussions on scheduling the first meeting of the group are ongoing.

There has been a consistent senior civil servant presence on British Steel's Scunthorpe site since 12 April, supporting British Steel's management team and providing oversight of public funds. The senior civil servants are supported on site by a range of staff from the Department for Business and Trade and UK Government Investments.

Existing legislation aims to keep disciplinary and grievance procedures internal to the workplace. Expanding the right to be accompanied to professional bodies, including legal professionals, may reduce the prospects of amicable resolution, potentially increasing employment tribunals and therefore legal costs for all parties.

The law already provides that workers are entitled to bring a companion who is either a colleague, an official employed by a trade union, or a workplace trade union representative. Employers can allow workers to be accompanied by a companion outside of this scope and some workers may already have a contractual right to do so.

Under existing legislation, we would not expect to see a difference in cost to the employer between a disciplinary or grievance hearing where the worker has a companion or does not have a companion. If the worker were to be accompanied by a trade union representative, the worker would pay for this through their trade union membership.

Departmental Ministerial portfolios can be found at Department for Business and Trade - GOV.UK

The full treaty, including goods tariff schedules and rules of origin annexes are published on Gov.uk and have been laid in the House. The Government will implement the changes to UK tariffs in line with usual procedures.

The UK–India trade deal includes mobility provisions that support short-term business mobility for highly skilled professionals. These provisions do not affect the UK’s points-based immigration system and are not expected to add to net migration in the long term.

The Double Contributions Convention (DCC) that the UK is negotiating with India will be a standard reciprocal social security agreement, similar to those the UK has covering 22 countries and the European Union. The DCC will not make it cheaper to hire Indian workers and nothing in the agreement will change our immigration regime.

Modelling and assumptions related to the DCC are not included in the FTA’s Impact Assessment, as the DCC is a separate treaty. The Office for Budget Responsibility will certify the impact of the trade deal including the Double Contributions Convention in the usual way at a fiscal event once the DCC is finalised and ratified.

The Secretary of State commissioned the Chair of Trade and Agriculture Commission upon signature of the India FTA and has given the Chair until 24 October to provide advice which will be laid before Parliament shortly thereafter. The Government will then produce a Section 42 Report, under its obligations in the Agriculture Act 2020, in collaboration with the Food Standards Agency and Food Standards Scotland, which will be laid in Parliament once we have considered the Commission's advice. Per the Government’s Trade Strategy, there will be at least 20 sitting days between the publication of the Section 42 Report and any triggering of the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act process.

The Secretary of State commissioned the Chair of Trade and Agriculture Commission upon signature of the India FTA and has given the Chair until 24 October to provide advice which will be laid before Parliament shortly thereafter. The Government will then produce a Section 42 Report, under its obligations in the Agriculture Act 2020, in collaboration with the Food Standards Agency and Food Standards Scotland, which will be laid in Parliament once we have considered the Commission's advice. Per the Government’s Trade Strategy, there will be at least 20 sitting days between the publication of the Section 42 Report and any triggering of the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act process.

The UK recognises that investors state dispute settlement provisions as an interest of UK business. In parallel to the Free Trade Agreement, we are negotiating a Bilateral Investment Treaty to progress UK interests. These talks have not concluded, and the agreement remains under discussion.

As we set out in the Modern Industrial Strategy, the manufacture of small satellites and payloads are a clear priority and strength of the UK space sector that this Government will support. Small satellites and their payloads are key to unlocking the benefits of Low Earth Orbit and several of our Industrial Strategy interventions will support this ambition. This includes a stronger focus on specific capabilities in Low Earth Orbit, new financial support mechanisms to accelerate scaling up manufacturing capacity and increased work with investors to identify suitable routes to private growth capital.

The UK aerospace sector is a global leader in aircraft innovation. Through the Aerospace Technology Institute Programme, the Government is investing up to £2.3 billion in R&D to 2035. This includes over £34 million awarded to Vertical Aerospace, supporting its development of electric vertical take-off landing (eVTOL) aircraft and reinforcing the UK’s position in sustainable aviation. Such support will enable the government to meet its objective of commercial piloted eVTOL from 2028.