Asked by: Clive Jones (Liberal Democrat - Wokingham)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many meetings Ministers in his Department had with trade bodies on the EU Regulation on General Product Safety before those regulations came into force.
Answered by Justin Madders
Ministerial colleagues and I regularly engage with businesses and business representative organisations. Further, officials in my Department have been in contact with businesses and trade bodies in anticipation of the EU GPSR's entry into force and continue to engage with them. This allows businesses to raise questions directly with the Government.
Asked by: Clive Jones (Liberal Democrat - Wokingham)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many meetings Ministers in his Department had on the EU Regulation on General Product Safety before those regulations came into force.
Answered by Justin Madders
Ministerial colleagues and I regularly engage with businesses and business representative organisations. Further, officials in my Department have been in contact with businesses and trade bodies in anticipation of the EU GPSR's entry into force and continue to engage with them. This allows businesses to raise questions directly with the Government.
Asked by: Clive Jones (Liberal Democrat - Wokingham)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, which parts of the (a) UK-Australia and (b) UK-New Zealand trade agreements will be monitored as part of the biennial monitoring reports on those treaties.
Answered by Douglas Alexander - Secretary of State for Scotland
The Department is currently considering our approach to FTA monitoring, and we will provide an update on this in due course to align with the Trade Strategy.
Asked by: Clive Jones (Liberal Democrat - Wokingham)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, which groups his Department will consult for its biennial monitoring reports on the (a) UK-Australia and (b) UK-New Zealand free trade agreements.
Answered by Douglas Alexander - Secretary of State for Scotland
The Department for Business and Trade engages with and recognises the need to understand a range of stakeholder perspectives in its aims to monitor Free Trade Agreements, including Australia and New Zealand.
Asked by: Clive Jones (Liberal Democrat - Wokingham)
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 provide employment protections for (a) young cancer patients and (b) their families.
Answered by Justin Madders
It is important that people with cancer are supported to return to, or remain in work, if that is what they choose to do. Workers with cancer and their carers are protected from employment discrimination under the Equality Act 2010. Their family members or friends may also be entitled to up to a week of unpaid carer’s leave to support them. We are reviewing implementation of carer’s leave and are exploring whether additional support may be needed.
Asked by: Clive Jones (Liberal Democrat - Wokingham)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps his Department has taken to support small businesses with meeting the requirements of the EU Regulation on General Product Safety (2023/988).
Answered by Justin Madders
The updated GPSR largely formalises how many businesses are already operating in the UK and the measures are therefore likely to have limited impact. However, we understand that for some businesses, the regulation will require changes, and we take any concerns very seriously.
Government is supporting small businesses to understand the regulation. We have published guidance on GPSR in Northern Ireland, which we will keep under review, and we are continuing to engage directly with businesses. Firms exporting to the EU should note that EU guidance is now available and may also wish to contact the Government’s Export Support Service.
Asked by: Clive Jones (Liberal Democrat - Wokingham)
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 EU Regulation on General Product Safety (2023/988) on small businesses.
Answered by Justin Madders
The updated GPSR largely formalises how many businesses are already operating in the UK and the measures are therefore likely to have limited impact. However, we understand that for some businesses, the regulation will require changes, and we take any concerns very seriously.
Government is supporting small businesses to understand the regulation. We have published guidance on GPSR in Northern Ireland, which we will keep under review, and we are continuing to engage directly with businesses. Firms exporting to the EU should note that EU guidance is now available and may also wish to contact the Government’s Export Support Service.
Asked by: Clive Jones (Liberal Democrat - Wokingham)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 28 October 2024 to Question 10718 on Trade Agreements, what opportunities he plans to provide to parliamentarians to scrutinise proposed free trade agreements.
Answered by Douglas Alexander - Secretary of State for Scotland
As well as meeting our statutory obligations under CRaG, the Government will continue to provide additional information and time to support parliamentary scrutiny of FTAs. This includes running a call for evidence on proposed new negotiations, publishing negotiating objectives and publishing regular updates throughout negotiations. Following signature of a new FTA, the Government will publish the full treaty text along with an Impact Assessment and explanatory memorandum and allow a reasonable period of time for Parliament to consider the agreement before commencing the formal CRaG scrutiny period.
Asked by: Clive Jones (Liberal Democrat - Wokingham)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, pursuant to his Answer on 24 October 2024 to Question 8573 on Trade, if he will publish his trade strategy prior to the conclusion of trade negotiations.
Answered by Douglas Alexander - Secretary of State for Scotland
As recently outlined in the Chancellors budget, we intend to publish the Trade Strategy in the Spring.
Asked by: Clive Jones (Liberal Democrat - Wokingham)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 11 November 2024 to Question 12540 on Trade Agreements: Gulf Cooperation Council, whether his Department has made an assessment of the extent to which the supply chains of Gulf Cooperation Council member states use forced labour.
Answered by Douglas Alexander - Secretary of State for Scotland
The UK remains committed to eradicating forced labour in global supply chains, in line with Sustainable Development Goal 8.7, and commitments made through the G7. No company should have forced labour in its supply chains.
Trade deals like the UK-GCC FTA will be aligned with the trade and industrial strategies. This Government is committed to working with international partners to ensure global supply chains are free from human and labour rights abuses.