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 for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of trade and investment cooperation on corruption, electoral integrity, rule of law and judicial independence in African nations.

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

The Department for Business and Trade works closely with other UK Government Departments, including the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, and many countries across the Africa continent, to consider a wide range of issues to make sure that two way trade and investment can grow through a stable business environment.

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.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, when he intends to publish the updated steel safeguards to replace the expiring ones in June 2026.

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

The Government remains committed to supporting the UK steel sector. A robust position on trade is critical for steel, underpinning our approach to defending against unfair practices and global overcapacity. The Government will ensure there is a plan in place following the expiry of the Safeguard in June. We are prioritising developing a robust trade measure to protect our domestic sector and will announce our proposals as soon as we can.

We are mindful of giving industry notice for their commercial decision making. This Government is clear that we must secure our domestic steelmaking.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, when he intends to publish the full text of the US Pharma Deal.

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

We are finalising underpinning details and will share more information when we can.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when she plans to respond to the correspondence of (a) 19 January 2026, (b) 12 February 2026 and (c) 3 March 2026 from the hon. Member for Arundel and South Downs.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

A response to your correspondence has now been issued.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to the Companies House news story titled Update on Companies House WebFiling security issue, published on 16 March 2026, on what date the security flaw allowing unauthorised access to company details was first introduced to the WebFiling system.

Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

Companies House has investigated the technical issue and confirmed that it was introduced on 11 October 2025 as part of a major WebFiling service update. It was not the result of any malicious attempt to breach its systems from outside or a cyber-attack. The issue has now been fixed and the WebFiling Service reopened at 9am on 16 March after comprehensive testing.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to the Companies House news story titled Update on Companies House WebFiling security issue, published on 16 March 2026, whether his Department has formally notified the Information Commissioner’s Office of a personal data breach regarding the potential exposure of director details.

Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

Companies House formally notified the Information Commissioner’s Office on 13 March 2026, as soon as it became aware of a potential data breach and is actively engaging with them as its internal investigation progresses. The issue was fixed and the WebFiling Service reopened at 9am on 16 March after comprehensive testing.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to the Companies House news story titled Update on Companies House WebFiling security issue, published on 16 March 2026, how many unique user accounts successfully performed the set of actions required to access another company’s details without consent during the period the vulnerability was active.

Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

It is not currently possible to determine the number of unique user accounts affected. However, Companies House is investigating this from both a technical and customer perspective. Following the initial report, ongoing investigations have found no subsequent confirmed cases of personal data having been accessed without permission as a result of the issue. There is no confirmed evidence that any records have been changed. The absence of any new confirmed cases is welcome, although investigations continue.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to the Companies House news story titled Update on Companies House WebFiling security issue, published on 16 March 2026, what estimate his Department has made of the number of companies whose private dashboard information, including director home addresses, was accessed by unauthorised users.

Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

Companies House is investigating this from both a technical and customer perspective. Following the initial report, ongoing investigations have found no subsequent confirmed cases of personal data having been accessed without permission as a result of this issue. There is no confirmed evidence that any records have been changed. The absence of any new confirmed cases is welcome, although as the investigation continue it is not yet possible to provide an estimate of whether any confirmed cases will be identified.