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 17 December to Question 99540 on British Steel, when he last received advice on the cost of decommissioning the blast furnaces at the British Steel Limited Scunthorpe Steelworks.
Answered by Chris McDonald - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Department received advice on decommissioning and land remediation costs ahead of making a generous offer of support in March 2025 to British Steel's current owner. The Government continues to consider all options in relation to the site at Scunthorpe.
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, when he last received advice on the cost of decontaminating the site of the British Steel Limited Scunthorpe Steelworks in the event of decomissioning.
Answered by Chris McDonald - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Department received advice on decommissioning and land remediation costs ahead of making a generous offer of support in March 2025 to British Steel's current owner. The Government continues to consider all options in relation to the site at Scunthorpe.
Asked by: Andrew Griffith (Conservative - Arundel and South Downs)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether she has plans to introduce a mandatory battery back up requirements for mobile network operators.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Residents in rural areas, as well as other areas of the country, rightly expect to have reliable mobile connectivity to participate in the modern digital economy. The Government recognises that events like storms and power outages can have a particular impact on rural communities.
Mobile network operators have legal obligations to put in place appropriate and proportionate measures to ensure the resilience of their networks and services. This is overseen by the independent regulator Ofcom, who have powers to monitor compliance, conduct investigations, issue penalties and enforce remedial actions.
Ofcom have completed a public consultation on power back-up for mobile services across the UK, which identified a particular impact on rural communities. They published an update on their work in February and announced they are completing further analysis to determine the appropriate and proportionate measures required to ensure adequate resilience for consumers. The Government will consider this analysis carefully. The Government is also supporting collaboration between the electricity and telecommunications sectors to deliver measures so that when power cuts occur the likelihood of disruption to telecommunications services is as low as possible, and where disruption does occur it should affect as few people for the shortest possible time.
Asked by: Andrew Griffith (Conservative - Arundel and South Downs)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps she is taking to improve the resilience of mobile networks in rural areas.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Residents in rural areas, as well as other areas of the country, rightly expect to have reliable mobile connectivity to participate in the modern digital economy. The Government recognises that events like storms and power outages can have a particular impact on rural communities.
Mobile network operators have legal obligations to put in place appropriate and proportionate measures to ensure the resilience of their networks and services. This is overseen by the independent regulator Ofcom, who have powers to monitor compliance, conduct investigations, issue penalties and enforce remedial actions.
Ofcom have completed a public consultation on power back-up for mobile services across the UK, which identified a particular impact on rural communities. They published an update on their work in February and announced they are completing further analysis to determine the appropriate and proportionate measures required to ensure adequate resilience for consumers. The Government will consider this analysis carefully. The Government is also supporting collaboration between the electricity and telecommunications sectors to deliver measures so that when power cuts occur the likelihood of disruption to telecommunications services is as low as possible, and where disruption does occur it should affect as few people for the shortest possible time.
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 many Independent Trade Advisers were employed by his Department on 30 September in each of the last 5 years.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Assuming that the Member has asked about ‘Independent Trade Advisers’ in error when he means ‘International Trade Advisers’, as of September 2025, the Department for Business and Trade employs 140 International Trade Advisers (ITAs). The table below presents the corresponding figures for the preceding three years. Prior to this period, ITAs were engaged through delivery partners and were therefore not employed by the Department.
Date | ITA Headcount |
October 2022 | 192 |
September 2023 | 154 |
September 2024 | 152 |
September 2025 | 140 |
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 many Independent Trade Advisers his Department plans to employ on 30 September 2026.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
As in PQ16188, the Member seems to be confusing his terminology as we do not employ any ‘Independent Trade Advisers’ but do employ 140 International Trade Advisers. We are undergoing a strategic organisational redesign to ensure we are best positioned to support UK businesses to grow and export and attract investment. This process is ongoing so it is not possible to determine numbers of staff in particular types of roles in September 2026.
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 estimate he has made of the gross exports facilitated by the work of his Department's Independent Trade Advisers in the last period for which data is available.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
In 2024/25, the Department for Business and Trade supported businesses to deliver over 2,700 Export Wins with a combined value of almost £24 billion. These successes were achieved through close collaboration across government and within the Department, including the work of International (not 'Independent') Trade Advisors.
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, if he will provide a list of the embassies and high commissions in which staff funded by his Department are based.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
As set out in our Trade and Industrial Strategies, following the Spending Review, we are reshaping the DBT overseas network led by our HM Trade Commissioners so that it is as focused as possible on the markets, sectors and opportunities that will drive economic growth for the UK. We are also restructuring the network to maximise our impact globally while becoming a smaller, more agile, and more tech enabled Department. We are working closely with the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office on implementing these changes. By March 2027 we expect to have DBT funded staff in approximately 80 global markets with a regional support offer for all other markets.
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, if he will make an assessment of the effectiveness of his Department’s international trade advisors for negotiating new free trade agreements.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Member is confusing two separate roles. Our International Trade Advisors (ITAs) support businesses to sell overseas: they do not conduct trade negotiations, which are led by chief negotiators, who are senior DBT officials.
Asked by: Andrew Griffith (Conservative - Arundel and South Downs)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 10 December 2025 to Question 97277 on Business Rates: Tax Allowances, if he will modify the Business Rates Information Letter (5/2025) sent to English Billing Authorities on 26 November 2025 so that the calculation for Base Liability aligns with the case studies in the Budget 2025: Retail, Hospitality, and Leisure Factsheet.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Business Rates Information Letter (5/2025) is already aligned with the Budget 2025: Retail, Hospitality and Leisure factsheet.
On 15 December 2025, the government published the 2026 Supporting Small Business Relief local authority guidance which is intended to support billing authorities in administering the scheme. It can be viewed on gov.uk here.