Asked by: Christine Jardine (Liberal Democrat - Edinburgh West)
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 proposed union access rules on small businesses; and if he will consider exemptions.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The government is introducing the new trade union right of access in a regulated and responsible manner, ensuring it is proportionate and workable for employers and unions. We recognise that smaller employers may find it more difficult to facilitate trade union access. That is why, following consultation at the end of 2025, we are setting out in secondary legislation an exemption for employers with fewer than 21 employees from statutory access provisions. This exemption will not apply to statutorily supported national bargaining frameworks, such as the Fair Pay Agreement in adult social care, however it will mean that the majority of micro-businesses and small employers will not be within scope of the policy.
Asked by: Christine Jardine (Liberal Democrat - Edinburgh West)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what recent assessment she has made with Cabinet colleagues of the implications for her policies of research on the fire risk associated with lithium-ion batteries.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Shadow Minister without Portfolio
UK product safety laws require all consumer products to be safe. Products using lithium-ion batteries must comply with essential safety requirements set out in law.
The Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS), part of the Department for Business and Trade, has established a multi-disciplinary safety study to understand data and evidence of risks in this area and has commissioned Warwick Manufacturing Group, to conduct research examining the safety of lithium-ion batteries. This forms part of cross Government work involving the Home Office and the Department for Transport alongside London Fire Brigade and the National Fire Chiefs Council.
Asked by: Christine Jardine (Liberal Democrat - Edinburgh West)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how much her Department spent on recruitment consultants in each of the last three years.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
Department for Business and Trade was created on 7 February in a Machinery of Government change. During the period in question, the Department for International Trade (DIT) and the Department for Business Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) were operating as two separate Departments.
DIT expenditure was: £648,408.47.
It is not possible to disaggregate the BEIS expenditure.
DIT spend
Year | Total Spend |
20/21 | £183,480.00 |
21/22 | £161,970.70 |
22/23 year to date 31/01/23 | £302,957.77 |
Total | £648,408.47 |