Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the total annual expenditure of her Department was on policy development, administration and oversight relating to the licensing regime under the Licensing Act 2003 in each financial year since 2019-20.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Home Office does not maintain a separate budget line for activity under the Licensing Act 2003. Relevant costs, including staff time in the policy team and contributions from legal and analytical colleagues are absorbed across wider departmental budgets.

Identifying the total annual expenditure for each year since 2019-20 would require a manual review of records across multiple teams and systems. The information requested could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to the Statistical bulletin - Civil Service Statistics: 2025, updated on 29 October 2025 and the Statistical bulletin - Civil Service Statistics: 2024, updated on 20 August 2024, for what reason the number of policy staff in his Department has increased by 90% in one year.

Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

The Cabinet Office revised the classification of professions in early March 2025. We have been instructed to substitute the International Trade profession with the Policy profession in our reporting. Accordingly, all staff previously classified under the International Trade profession in 2024 have now been reassigned to the Policy profession. The reported percentage increase is attributable to this change.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what the value is of the financial support package being negotiated with the Jingye Group in relation to British Steel's operations in Scunthorpe.

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

We continue to work with Jingye to find a pragmatic and realistic solution for the future of British Steel. Upon the end of Government intervention under the Steel Industry (Special Measures) Act, a compensation scheme will be available to Jingye, which would provide for an independent assessment to determine what amount of compensation, if any, is appropriate.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what meetings his Department has had with Jingye on compensation for British Steel.

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

We continue to work with Jingye to find a pragmatic and realistic solution for the future of British Steel. Upon the end of Government intervention under the Steel Industry (Special Measures) Act, a compensation scheme will be available to Jingye, which would provide for an independent assessment to determine what amount of compensation, if any, is appropriate.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what methodology will be used to determine the level of compensation available to Jingye following Royal Assent of the Steel Industry (Special Measures) Act 2025.

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

We continue to work with Jingye to find a pragmatic and realistic solution for the future of British Steel. Upon the end of Government intervention under the Steel Industry (Special Measures) Act, a compensation scheme will be available to Jingye, which would provide for an independent assessment to determine what amount of compensation, if any, is appropriate.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her department holds data on revenue collected by local authorities from Late Night Levies.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Home Office publishes information biennially on the amount raised by late night levies in England and Wales in the statistical publication on alcohol licensing. The latest available data is for the year ending 31 March 2024 and can be accessed at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/alcohol-and-late-night-refreshment-licensing-england-and-wales-statistics

Data on the amounts raised by late night levies, by licensing authority, in England and Wales for the year ending 31 March 2024, as well as for previous years, can be found in data table 14.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what his timeline is for the disbursement of agreed funds to the Jingye Group.

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

I refer the Member to the answer I gave on 2 March 2026 to question 115644.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what the total value is of the financial support package being negotiated with the Jingye Group in relation to British Steel's operations in Scunthorpe.

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

I refer the Member to the answer I gave on 2 March 2026 to question 115644.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how regularly the Industrial Development Advisory Board (IDAB) meets.

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

The Board meets monthly to review cases that are presented to them, if there are no such cases the meetings are cancelled, as was the case in February 2026. Additional meetings beyond the monthly meetings are scheduled where necessary to review exceptionally urgent cases.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether he will publish the minutes of the most recent Industrial Development Advisory Board meeting.

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

Minutes of the meetings of the Industrial Development Advisory Board are not published. The discussions of the Board and the advice they provide to the Secretary of State with respect to the exercise of their functions under sections 7 and 8 of the Industrial Development Act encompass highly commercially sensitive information.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, when the Industrial Development Advisory Board (IDAB) last met.

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

The Industrial Development Advisory Board last met on 13 January 2026.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, pursuant to the 2025–26 Supplementary Estimates, for what specific purpose the £375 million increase in Capital DEL for British Steel will be used; and whether that funding will take the form of loans, equity investment, guarantees or grants.

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

The additional £375 million Capital DEL allocated for British Steel Limited, as outlined in the Supplementary Estimates 2025-26, will be used to provide working capital and is recoverable as a debt owed to the Crown, specifically referenced in section 3(6) of the Steel Industry (Special Measures) Act. The sole stipulation for this funding is that it must be used strictly for the purposes established in the legislation. Each tranche of funding provided to British Steel undergoes thorough review and approval prior to release. As of today, approximately £370 million has been provided to British Steel Limited to support working capital needs, including expenses such as raw materials, staff salaries, and other operational costs.

This allocation will be fully accounted for in the Department for Business and Trade's accounts for the 2025-26 financial year.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether his Department has undertaken a value-for-money assessment of the £375 million capital allocation for British Steel included in the 2025–26 Supplementary Estimates.

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

The Steel Industry (Special Measures) Act is a temporary measure to ensure that critical steel facilities remain operational. The Government keeps BSL's financial position under constant review to protect taxpayers' interests while ensuring continuity of safe and responsible operations. BSL continues trading commercially and Government officials are continuing to provide on-site support in Scunthorpe monitoring, reviewing and scrutinising the use of taxpayer funds with robust financial governance in place.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment his Department has made on the potential impact of the closure of the Hormuz Strait on British business.

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

We are undertaking detailed analysis to assess the potential impact of any closure of the Strait of Hormuz on British businesses. We are monitoring the situation closely and working across government to safeguard UK economic resilience. We have an export support team that businesses can reach out to for support on disrupted trade or supply chains. We continue to analyse the potential impact of increased energy prices however this is not a question of security of supply, and we are confident that we have multiple and sufficient sources of supply.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what conditions or requirements are attached to the £375 million capital allocation relating to British Steel included in the 2025–26 Supplementary Estimates; and whether he expects the funding to be repaid or generate a financial return to the Exchequer.

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

The £375 million capital allocation for British Steel Limited is recoverable as a debt owed to the Crown. The sole stipulation for this funding is that it must be used strictly for the purposes established in the legislation. Recoverability of this debt will be further assessed at year-end and the resulting treatment will be reflected and published in the Department for Business and Trade's accounts for 2025-26.

The £375m is intended for British Steel Limited, a private limited company limited by shares incorporated in the United Kingdom under the Companies Act 2006 and registered in England and Wales with company number 12303256.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, which legal entity or entities are expected to receive the £375 million capital funding for British Steel included in the 2025–26 Supplementary Estimates.

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

The £375 million capital allocation for British Steel Limited is recoverable as a debt owed to the Crown. The sole stipulation for this funding is that it must be used strictly for the purposes established in the legislation. Recoverability of this debt will be further assessed at year-end and the resulting treatment will be reflected and published in the Department for Business and Trade's accounts for 2025-26.

The £375m is intended for British Steel Limited, a private limited company limited by shares incorporated in the United Kingdom under the Companies Act 2006 and registered in England and Wales with company number 12303256.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what (a) meetings and (b) correspondence he has had with Donna Ockenden on the leadership of the independent review into maternity services at University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department has received correspondence from Sussex families regarding the appointment of Donna Ockenden and will respond shortly. The Department is currently considering options in terms of case numbers and chair appointment.

Ministerial meetings with external stakeholders are published on the GOV.UK website on a quarterly basis in arrears.