Asked by: Ben Maguire (Liberal Democrat - North Cornwall)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of Investor-State Dispute Settlement claims arising from climate-related planning and regulatory decisions on public finances.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Investor State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) provides an independent means for investors to resolve disputes with states where they believe they have experienced arbitrary, discriminatory, or unfair treatment or expropriation without compensation.
An independent Tribunal determines the level of liability, if any, in any Investor State Dispute proceedings. The Government has never faced a successful ISDS claim.
Asked by: Ben Maguire (Liberal Democrat - North Cornwall)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether his Department plans to assess the compatibility of existing bilateral investment treaties containing Investor-State Dispute Settlement provisions with the UK’s (a) net zero commitments and (b) climate policy objectives.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The UK draws on the full range of investment commitments and international best practice in our international investment agreements to promote growth, deliver our clean energy goals, and continue to uphold the UK’s right to regulate.
Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) provides an independent means to resolve disputes with states where investors believe they have experienced arbitrary, discriminatory or unfair treatment or expropriation without compensation. ISDS does not remove governments’ right to regulate in the public interest, including with respect to the environment.
Asked by: Ben Maguire (Liberal Democrat - North Cornwall)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether his Department plans to undertake an assessment of the potential economic impacts on (i) Cornwall, and (ii) the wider UK economy, arising from capacity constraints in the commercial laundry sector during peak seasonal demand in areas with high levels of tourism.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government recognises that commercial laundries provide an essential service that supports the daily operations of the UK’s hospitality and tourism industries.
The Department for Business and Trade has not made a formal assessment, nor does it have any current plans to, on the contribution of the commercial laundry industry to the economy.
Asked by: Ben Maguire (Liberal Democrat - North Cornwall)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment his Department has made of the potential contribution of the commercial laundry industry to the economy.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government recognises that commercial laundries provide an essential service that supports the daily operations of the UK’s hospitality and tourism industries.
The Department for Business and Trade has not made a formal assessment, nor does it have any current plans to, on the contribution of the commercial laundry industry to the economy.
Asked by: Ben Maguire (Liberal Democrat - North Cornwall)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps his Department is taking to support local, independent coffee shops.
Answered by Gareth Thomas
Hospitality businesses, including independent coffee shops, are at the heart of our communities and play a vital role in supporting economic growth and community cohesion.
The government plans to permanently lower business rates for retail, hospitality, and leisure properties with a rateable value under £500,000 and we’ve introduced a Hospitality Support Scheme to co-fund projects which aim to help those furthest from the job market into employment and boosting productivity.
In addition, the government announced a Zero Carbon Hospitality Trial, meaning over 600 small and medium sized hospitality businesses will receive free energy and carbon reduction assessments to help cut energy costs, this will include cafes.
Our Small Business Strategy will set out further measures which will assist local, independent coffee shops.
Asked by: Ben Maguire (Liberal Democrat - North Cornwall)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many claims have been (a) made to and (b) rejected by the compensation schemes for sub-postmasters impacted by Horizon IT; and what proportion of those claims have successfully concluded.
Answered by Gareth Thomas
Claimant eligibility for each redress scheme is confirmed before claims are progressed. No eligible claims have been rejected. We have made significant progress in delivering redress to victims of the Horizon scandal. The table below demonstrates the progress made as of 30 June 2025, however there is still more to do:
Scheme | Full & Final Claims received | Full & Final Offers made | Full & Final Offers accepted | Full & Final claims paid | Proportion Concluded (claims paid/claims received) |
Horizon Shortfall Scheme: eligible claims before deadline | 2,417 | 2,417 | 2,122 | 2,119 | 88% |
Horizon Shortfall Scheme: eligible late claims | 7,750 | 5,160 | 4,774 | 4,732 | 61% |
Group Litigation Order Scheme | 460 | 452 | 336 | 334 | 73% |
Horizon Convictions Redress Scheme | 416 | 410 | 401 | 397 | 95% |
A further 71 full and final payments have been made to 71 (of the 111) postmasters whose convictions were quashed via the courts.
In total, approximately £1,098 million (over 1 billion) has been paid in redress across all schemes.
Asked by: Ben Maguire (Liberal Democrat - North Cornwall)
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 potential merits of introducing a guest beer provision as part of the third statutory review and post-implementation review of the Pubs Code and Pubs Code Adjudicator.
Answered by Justin Madders
The Pubs Code (the Code) applies to large pub-owning businesses with 500 or more tied pubs in England and Wales, covering around 8,000 pubs. The statutory review will consider the operation of the Code and performance of the Pubs Code Adjudicator over the review period and interested parties can submit their views to the call for inputs until 14 August 2025.
The government is also currently completing a separate exercise to understand whether there are any barriers to market for small brewers. Interested parties can contact beermarketreview@businessandtrade.gov.uk.
Asked by: Ben Maguire (Liberal Democrat - North Cornwall)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to paragraph 2.44 of the Autumn Budget 2024, published on 30 October 2024, HC295, what discussions his Department (a) has had and (b) plans to have with representatives of (i) breweries and (ii) consumers on the consultation on encouraging small brewers to retain and expand their access to pubs.
Answered by Gareth Thomas
At the Autumn Budget, the Chancellor announced that the government would consult on ways to encourage small brewers to retain and expand their access to UK pubs.
We are undertaking commercially confidential discussions with a wide range of market participants to gain a better understanding of the supply, sale and dispense of cask and keg beers, together with the nature of competition between brewers, including local/small suppliers.
We will then discuss the findings with competition and markets experts before considering further steps.
Asked by: Ben Maguire (Liberal Democrat - North Cornwall)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on a permanent reduction in business rates for the beer and pub sector.
Answered by Gareth Thomas
The Department for Business and Trade engages with His Majesty's Treasury (HMT) at Ministerial and official level on a range of issues, including business rates reform and how this will affect the hospitality sector.
Asked by: Ben Maguire (Liberal Democrat - North Cornwall)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether his Department plans to reform business rates for the beer and pub sector.
Answered by Gareth Thomas
The Department for Business and Trade engages with His Majesty's Treasury (HMT) at Ministerial and official level on a range of issues, including business rates reform and how this will affect the hospitality sector.