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, pursuant to the Answer of 7 July 2025 to Question 64503 on British Steel: Scunthorpe, what conclusion the report in late 2024 commissioned at British Steel reached on the remaining lifespan of the blast furnaces.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave to Question 65668.
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, how much his Department has spent on advertising the Industrial Strategy in (a) newspapers, (b) other print media, (c) online and (d) in total.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Marketing including paid advertising is necessary to reach a target audience of senior business decision makers, raising awareness of the UK’s new modern industrial strategy and the opportunities it presents for business growth. The Department of Business and Trade declares all advertising and media spend above £25,000 through its monthly transparency reporting process. These figures are published on gov.uk.
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 steps he is taking to ensure that small businesses have input into Departmental regulatory consultations.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
For regulation to be effective, it must be created in partnership with businesses. To support this, the government initiated the Invest 2035 call for evidence from key stakeholders, including small businesses, providing input on where regulation can be reformed across our key growth-driving sectors to help encourage growth and innovation.
These responses informed our Modern Industrial Strategy published last month, as well as the Government’s Action Plan for Regulation, published in March. We are continuing to engage with SMEs, via a dedicated forum chaired by Minister Thomas, which will directly inform our forthcoming SME Strategy.
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, whether he has made an estimate of the time spent by businesses on regulatory paperwork annually.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Determining the cumulative administrative costs of regulation that businesses face has not been done for 15 years. That’s why we are undertaking a baselining exercise to understand the administrative costs of regulation to businesses. This baseline will inform how we implement the target of reducing administrative burdens by 25% by the end of the Parliament, as announced in the March Action Plan for Regulation. We have considered different analytical options and looked to identify the most proportionate methodology to calculate the baseline for costs. We will announce a final baseline in due course.
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 comparative assessment he has made of levels of regulation on businesses in (a) the UK and (b) other G20 countries.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The UK is an excellent place to do business, and in 2023 scored in the top 3 G20 countries on regulatory quality according to the World Bank [Regulatory Quality: Percentile Rank | Data]. However, businesses have told us that regulation can be too complex, stifle progress and innovation, with 45% businesses agreeing that regulation was an obstacle to their success in 2022, according to DBT’s Business Perceptions Survey. Our Action Plan for Regulation aims to reduce these burdens for businesses, including by cutting the administrative costs for business by 25% by the end of this Parliament.
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, whether he has had discussions with devolved Administrations on coordinating business regulation to reduce duplication.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
To deliver growth across the UK, and support businesses and consumers, UK Government officials have been engaging with officials from the Scottish and Welsh Governments, and Northern Ireland Executive, on its Action Plan to overhaul our regulatory system, including the target to reduce the administrative cost of regulation to business by 25% by the end of this Parliament. Whilst the territorial scope relates to reserved matters, the Government is committed to collaborating with the devolved governments, including at Ministerial level using intergovernmental structures where appropriate, to ensure that reforms benefit the maximum number of people around the UK.
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, pursuant to the Answer of 7 July 2025 to Question 64503 on British Steel: Scunthorpe, if he will publish (a) the findings of the independent assessment and (b) a summary of the findings of the independent assessment.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government does not intend to publish the findings of the independent assessment as they are commercially sensitive.
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 recent steps his Department has taken to reduce cross-border trade processes for small businesses.
Answered by Douglas Alexander - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
There are a number of different Departments and agencies with responsibility for cross-border processes. The Government’s Trade Strategy sets out how HMG will continue to work to support business, including through DBT working with industry on initiatives to improve the uptake of Electronic Trade Documents to reduce paperwork and administrative burdens for small businesses trading across borders
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 assessment he has made of the lifespan of the blast furnaces at British Steel in Scunthorpe.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
British Steel’s remaining blast furnaces were built in 1938 and 1954 respectively and are approaching the end of their operational life.
An independent assessment was undertaken in late 2024 to help inform decision-making on their future use.
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, whether he has had discussions with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the ONS's classification of British Steel as part of the public non-financial corporations subsector.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Secretary of State for Business and Trade meets with the Chancellor regularly on a range of issues, including steel. Following the passing of emergency legislation in the Steel Industry (Special Measures) Act 2025 on 12 April, the ONS informed my departmental officials that it would undertake a classification assessment of British Steel Limited.
British Steel Limited has been classified to the public non-financial corporations subsector. Further information on this decision can be obtained directly from ONS’s website.