Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the use of weight-loss injections upon the levels of grocery sales within the UK.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government Office for Science are currently exploring existing evidence and potential future implications of weight-loss drugs.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
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 volume of imported products that were manufactured using Russian oil in each of the last three years.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government works with international partners to constrain Russian oil revenues while maintaining global energy supply and security, protecting critical supply chains, and maintaining the stability of global markets. In December 2022, the Government banned imports of oil and oil products from Russia into the UK. On 16 October 2025, the Government announced it will extend this ban to include imports of oil products refined in third countries using Russian crude.
My department does not hold data on the volume of imported products manufactured using Russian oil.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether his Department provided support to Vivergo prior to their decision to close their bioethanol plant.
Answered by Chris McDonald - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The government did not provide financial support to Vivergo before it’s closure.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many people have been prosecuted for the illegal sale of fireworks each year for the past five years.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
This information is not held by the Department of Business and Trade. Local Council Trading Standards prosecute cases of illegal fireworks sale. Prosecutions for illegal sales of fireworks are made under the Pyrotechnic Articles (Safety) Regulations 2015 (UK-wide extent) and the Fireworks Act 2003 (GB-wide extent). The Ministry of Justice collects and publishes information from Courts and Sentencing data for England and Wales in the Criminal Justice System Statistics Quarterly publications.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many (a) licenced and (b) registered sellers of fireworks were there in the latest period for which data is available.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
No official data is collected on how many licenced and registers sellers of fireworks in the last period. Fireworks licences and registrations are administered by local authorities, and in some regions, fire and rescue services.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to page 28 of the Defence Industrial Strategy: Making Defence an Engine for Growth, published on 8 September 2025, when he plans to publish the first Modern Industrial Strategy update.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
We are working at pace in partnership with business to deliver our modern Industrial Strategy, to increase investment and grow the economy. We have now published all eight Sector Plans, co-developed with industry, as well as the first Industrial Strategy Quarterly Update: Industrial Strategy quarterly update: July to September 2025 - GOV.UK.
The Quarterly Update sets out how we are delivering on our commitments in the Industrial Strategy and reports on the key economic indicators for our high-growth sectors, as well as delivery milestones and major investment commitments.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to page 12 of the National Security Strategy 2025, published on 24 June 2025, what progress he has made on (a) identifying, (b) nurturing and (c) protecting sovereign areas of strength in the UK’s (i) industrial, (ii) scientific and (iii) technological base.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government’s Industrial Strategy identified the frontier industries where the UK will prioritise its interventions across its 8 growth-driving sectors, which have all published dedicated sector plans developed with business and sector experts. Our Digital and Technology Sector Plan outlined how we will build sovereign capability in strategic technologies, including launching the Sovereign AI Unit with £500m in new funding, and investing £670m in Quantum computing to secure UK leadership. Across our industrial base, DBT’s newly established supply chain centre will review key inputs and determine where action such as domestic capability building is required to protect our strategic strengths.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment he has made of the importance of identifying sources of critical minerals as a domain of strategic competition.
Answered by Chris McDonald - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The government recognises that identifying sources of critical minerals is of growing strategic importance, as reflected in the UK’s Industrial and National Security Strategies published this year. According to estimates from the International Energy Agency, global demand for critical minerals for clean energy is set to quadruple by 2040. Securing resilient supplies is essential for economic growth, national security, and the clean energy transition. The government will launch a new Critical Minerals Strategy this year, working with industry and international partners to ensure the UK remains competitive. This will build on the Critical Minerals Intelligence Centre’s updated Criticality Assessment for the UK published last year.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to the UK’s Modern Industrial Strategy, CP 1337, published on 23 June 2025, what progress he has made on extending smart data initiatives into relevant industrial strategy sectors.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Industrial Strategy committed £36 million to advance Smart Data across the economy, including in growth-driving sectors. The Department for Business and Trade’s forthcoming Smart Data strategy will outline how this investment will be used to support scheme development in priority sectors. Work is progressing at pace - the Financial Conduct Authority has launched a Smart Data Accelerator for Open Finance; the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero is developing proposals for an energy scheme; and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology has undertaken a call for evidence on Smart Data in digital markets.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment has he made of the potential impact of US Section 232 steel and aluminium tariffs on the level of exports.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Thanks to the strength of the UK-US partnership, the UK remains the only country to benefit from a preferential 25% tariff on steel and aluminium exports to the US, avoiding the global rate of 50%. The UK is therefore uniquely positioned as the only country to have secured this commitment, giving our companies a 25% competitive advantage over global competitors.
We continue to engage closely with the steel and aluminium sectors, holding regular discussions with senior industry leaders and trade unions to assess and understand the impact of US tariffs.