Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what discussions his Department has had with businesses on maintaining flexible staffing arrangements in the context of the Employment Rights Act 2025.

Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

The Government is improving flexibility and security for workers while supporting a flexible, responsive labour market that drives economic growth. This includes reforms on flexible working, agency work and zero hours contracts.

Across each of these areas, engagement with businesses and trade bodies has been core to policy development.

We are also continuing to gather views from businesses through our current public consultations on Improving Access to Flexible Working and Modernising the Agency Work Regulatory Framework.

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 reforms to zero-hours contracts on businesses whose sales are significantly affected by (a) the weather and (b) other unpredictable factors.

Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

The government has published a comprehensive assessment of the potential impacts from the zero hours contract measures in the Employment Rights Act 2025. These assessments include consideration of increases in labour costs and the subsequent effects, as well as setting out the sectors most likely to be impacted by the measures.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps his Department are taking to help support hospitality businesses in managing cost pressures from energy costs.

Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The Government believes that our mission to deliver clean power by 2030 is the best way to break our dependence on global fossil fuel markets and protect billpayers permanently. The creation of Great British Energy will help us to harness clean energy with less reliance on volatile international energy markets and help in our commitment to make Britain a clean energy superpower by 2030.

In the short-term, the Government wants to provide businesses with better protection from being locked into unfair and expensive energy contracts, and more redress when they have a complaint. That’s why the Government has decided to regulate Third-Party Intermediaries (TPIs), such as energy brokers. This will improve consumer outcomes and enhance consumer protections for non-domestic consumers, particularly charities and small businesses. Regulation will be introduced once parliamentary time allows.

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 impact of food inflation on hospitality businesses.

Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

Data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) shows that in the 12 months to January 2026 CPI food and non-alcoholic beverages price inflation stood at 3.6%, down from 4.5% in the 12 months to December 2025. Overall CPI inflation was 3.0% in the 12 months to January 2026, compared with 3.4% in the 12 months to December 2025, and remains 1 percentage point above the Bank of England's 2% target.

We are committed to ensuring that regulation works better for food businesses. The new Food Inflation Gateway will assess the impact of proposed Government regulations on food businesses and food prices; while also giving firms a single, clearer line of sight on upcoming regulatory changes so they can plan with greater confidence.

In addition, the Government has introduced a series of measures to help ease cost pressures across the sector, including permanently lower business rates multipliers for eligible retail, hospitality and leisure properties. We will continue to work closely with the sector and across Government to support resilience and help hospitality businesses navigate ongoing cost challenges.

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