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 list the responsibilities of each of his Department's Ministers.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Departmental Ministerial portfolios can be found at Department for Business and Trade - 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, how many officials from his Department were on site at British Steel Limited locations in each week since 12 April 2025.
Answered by Chris McDonald - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
There has been a consistent senior civil servant presence on British Steel's Scunthorpe site since 12 April, supporting British Steel's management team and providing oversight of public funds. The senior civil servants are supported on site by a range of staff from the Department for Business and Trade and UK Government Investments.
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 the full terms of reference will be for the UK-China Industrial Decarbonisation Working Group.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The UK-China Industrial Decarbonisation Working Group will focus on accelerating decarbonisation of UK and Chinese industry, and identifying opportunities for commercial collaboration in relevant subsectors linked to industrial decarbonisation, such as CCUS.
Further discussion on areas of focus will take place at the first meeting.
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 the (a) membership and (b) appointment process will be for the UK-China Industrial Decarbonisation Working Group.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The UK-China Industrial Decarbonisation Working Group will comprise officials from the Department for Business and Trade and China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.
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 the UK-China Industrial Decarbonisation Working Group will be operational.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Agreement to establish a UK-China Industrial Decarbonisation Working Group was an outcome of the Industrial Cooperation Dialogue between the Department of Business and Trade and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, which took place on Wednesday 10 September 2025.
Discussions on scheduling the first meeting of the group are ongoing.
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 discussions (a) he, (b) his predecessor and (c) his Department have had with the Government of the People’s Republic of China on British Steel Limited.
Answered by Chris McDonald - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
In recent months, Ministers and officials have had short, factual discussions with the Government of the People’s Republic of China regarding British Steel Limited, most recently during the Business & Trade Secretary’s visit to China on 10-11 September.
We continue to engage directly with British Steel’s owner to find the best solution for the Scunthorpe site.
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, with reference to his visit to China between 10 and 11 September 2025, whether he had discussions on British Steel Limited.
Answered by Chris McDonald - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
In recent months, Ministers and officials have had short, factual discussions with the Government of the People’s Republic of China regarding British Steel Limited, most recently during the Business & Trade Secretary’s visit to China on 10-11 September.
We continue to engage directly with British Steel’s owner to find the best solution for the Scunthorpe site.
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 recent trends in the level of venture capital funding into the UK.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
UK venture funding appears to be stabilising after the downturn seen during 2021-2022, with dealmaking recovering and job creation increasing. It is important to note company fundraising is proving more resilient than fund fundraising, creating a tougher overall environment for fund managers despite the increase in company rounds completing. The capital gap facing UK scaleups is a pressing concern, making it essential for public finance bodies to act quickly to support fund managers and expand the pools of growth capital available to scaleups.
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 increase access to venture capital funding for businesses.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
UK venture funding appears to be stabilising after the downturn seen during 2021-2022, with dealmaking recovering and job creation increasing. It is important to note company fundraising is proving more resilient than fund fundraising, creating a tougher overall environment for fund managers despite the increase in company rounds completing. The capital gap facing UK scaleups is a pressing concern, making it essential for public finance bodies to act quickly to support fund managers and expand the pools of growth capital available to scaleups.
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 publish UK–India (a) tariff schedules, (b) rules of origin annexes and (c) concordance tables for businesses.
Answered by Douglas Alexander - Secretary of State for Scotland
The full treaty, including goods tariff schedules and rules of origin annexes are published on Gov.uk and have been laid in the House. The Government will implement the changes to UK tariffs in line with usual procedures.