Asked by: Claire Young (Liberal Democrat - Thornbury and Yate)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, what assessment his Department has made of the level of the barriers faced by disabled people in accessing start up funding; and what steps he plans to take to reduce them.
Answered by Chris McDonald - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department's work through the Lilac Review with Small Business Britain has supported research into the barriers faced by disabled people in accessing start up finance.
In response to this the Disability Finance Code for Entrepreneurship (DFCE) was launched in December 2024 to improve access to finance and resources for disabled entrepreneurs. Its July 2026 Progress Report highlighted progress by founding signatories Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds and NatWest.
The Department will continue to work with the wider financial sector to expand the Code’s reach, strengthen its impact, and help reduce financial barriers for disabled entrepreneurs across the UK.
Asked by: Claire Young (Liberal Democrat - Thornbury and Yate)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of UK Conformity Assessed marking requirements for lithium-ion batteries used in e-bikes and e-scooters; and what steps he is taking to ensure that battery packs that do not meet British safety standards are prevented from entering the domestic market.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Minister of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade)
While UKCA marking is required for certain products, it is not required for all consumer products. The UK’s product safety laws require that businesses must only place safe lithium-ion batteries on the market, including those used in e-bikes or e-scooters. In 2024 the Government introduced new statutory guidelines for lithium-ion e-bike batteries to clarify the safety requirements they must meet. Regulators have powers to remove unsafe products from the market, and since 2022 the Office for Product Safety and Standards has published 24 product recalls and 65 product safety reports for non-compliant e-bikes, e-scooters and associated products.