Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what his planned timetable is for agreeing a UK-Gulf Cooperation Council trade deal.

Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)

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.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, when his Department's financial support for Jaguar Land Rover was made available.

Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)

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.

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 impact of the EU’s plans to reduce its tariff free steel import quota on the UK steel industry.

Answered by Chris McDonald - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

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.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, when he plans to formally present the UK-India Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement to Parliament.

Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)

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.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, when negotiations on the double contribution convention with India will conclude.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

In a side letter to the Comprehensive and Economic Trade Agreement (CETA), agreed in July 2025, the UK and India committed to concluding the negotiations to allow for the Double Contributions Convention to enter into force at the same time as the CETA.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make an estimate of the number of agricultural businesses that have been affected by the suspension of the Sustainable Farming Incentive in (a) West Sussex, (b) East Sussex and (c) Brighton and Hove.

Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Following the closure of the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) Scheme, the Rural Payments Agency re-opened the SFI 2024 offer to eligible farmers who had started but not submitted an application as at 11 March 2025, and those who were eligible under one of three exception groups.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many agricultural businesses in (a) West Sussex, (b) East Sussex and (c) Brighton and Hove received Sustainable Farming Incentive grants in 2024.

Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

As of the 1st of January 2025, there were 32,200 Sustainable Farming Incentive agreements in England. This was made up of 25,300 agreements in the Sustainable Farming Incentive 23 and 6,900 agreements in the Sustainable Farming Incentive Expanded Offer. This includes agreements for agricultural businesses in West Sussex, East Sussex and Brighton and Hove.

Attendance of the Attorney General at the Bar of the House on the Chinese espionage case