Asked by: Gregor Poynton (Labour - Livingston)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the availability of international trade show funding on the competitiveness of (a) exports and (b) exports by the (i) construction and (ii) natural materials sectors.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Though our Trade Strategy, Industrial Strategy, and Small Business Plan, we are putting in place the policies, support, and services needed to drive export-led business growth.
We continue to review how we can improve our support, and as part of this process, we target resources that will have the greatest impact for UK businesses.
From tailored market advice and free training to UK Export Finance and our on-the-ground international network, we are helping connect firms to new opportunities, and build the capability to seize them.
Asked by: Gregor Poynton (Labour - Livingston)
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 support British manufacturers to attend (a) Marmomac in Verona and (b) other major international trade shows.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Through our Trade Strategy, Industrial Strategy, and Small Business Plan, we're putting in place the policies, support, and services needed to drive export-led growth, particularly in high-growth potential sectors like advanced manufacturing.
We routinely run targeted trade missions, support business at international trade shows, and connect international buyers with exporters at home to help them grow their businesses. In addition, businesses have access to support from tailored market advice and free training to UK Export Finance and our on-the-ground international network.
We continue to review how we can improve our support, including how we connect firms to new opportunities, and build the capability to seize them.
Asked by: Gregor Poynton (Labour - Livingston)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to ensure the effective enforcement of The Product Safety and Metrology etc. (Amendment) Regulations 2024 in relation to imported construction products.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Product Safety and Metrology etc. (Amendment) Regulations provide for continued recognition of certain EU requirements for a range of products, but do not apply to construction products.
The Construction Products Regulation 2011 (as amended) governs the placing on the market of construction products. This includes enabling the European ‘CE’ mark to be used as an alternative to the UK Conformity Assessed (UKCA) marking when placing a product on the market.
The National Regulator for Construction Products (NRCP) and Local Authority Trading Standards (LATS) have regulatory powers to carry out market surveillance and enforcement to remove non-compliant products from the UK market.
In September 2024 the government announced its intention to continue to recognise the CE mark for construction products, conditional on system wide reform of the construction products regime. This was followed by the publication of a green paper in February 2025, which set out comprehensive proposals, including a range of measures to improve the enforcement regime.
Asked by: Gregor Poynton (Labour - Livingston)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what plans his Department has to work with housing associations and industry to scale up affordable and tenant-friendly retrofitting models to help meet the Government’s 2030 EPC target for social homes.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The government is currently consulting on introducing minimum energy efficiency standards for the social rented sector. We will be engaging closely with the sector throughout the consultation process.
The Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund provides grant funding for social housing landlords to improve the energy performance of their properties through installing energy efficiency measures and low carbon technologies. Wave 3 of the fund, for which allocations were announced in March 2025, will deliver up to £1.29 billion of funding.
Asked by: Gregor Poynton (Labour - Livingston)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of modern, low-disruption retrofit techniques on the rate of decarbonisation of the UK’s social housing stock.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Department places significant importance on the tenants needs, and complying with consumer protection standards when completing retrofit works.
The Department takes an iterative approach to schemes - such as increasing the provision of modern low carbon heating technologies under the Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund Wave 3 – and conducts robust evaluation of delivery. These findings, such as in the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund Wave 2.1 Process Evaluation report (available here), highlight delivery successes and challenges, and enable the adoption of new techniques.
Asked by: Gregor Poynton (Labour - Livingston)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps he is taking to increase the deployment of low-carbon heating technologies in the social housing sector; and if he will review and respond to the findings of Mitsubishi Electric’s recent report on delivering net zero in social housing.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government has committed £13.2 billion over the Spending Review period for the Warm Homes Plan, which will support investment in insulation and low carbon heating to homes across England. Within Wave 3 of the Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund, which launched earlier this year, there is a new optional low carbon heating incentive for homes on the gas grid. Up to 10% of homes in an application can access a £20,000 grant per home to install low carbon heating measures. I appreciate Mitsubishi Electric’s recent report, and my officials are engaging with Mitsubishi regarding these findings.
Asked by: Gregor Poynton (Labour - Livingston)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of supporting access to second-hand battery electric vehicles through reduced benefit-in-kind taxation on used electric cars.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government is fully committed to the transition to electric vehicles and a strong second-hand market for EVs plays an important role in this.
The Company Car Tax regime helps support the used electric vehicle markets, where electric company cars are sold after the end of their lease.
The majority of cars are bought in the UK’s second hand markets. At Autumn Budget the Government announced new Company Car Tax rates for 2028-29 and 2029-30 which will maintain very generous incentives to support electric vehicle take-up, and therefore the entry of electric vehicles into the second-hand market.
Asked by: Gregor Poynton (Labour - Livingston)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of reinstating funding for UK exhibitors at key international trade fairs in (a) the natural stone sector and (b) other sectors where export potential is strong.
Answered by Gareth Thomas
Through our Trade Strategy, Industrial Strategy, and Small Business Plan, we are putting in place the policies, support, and services needed to drive export-led growth. For the first time, DBT is integrating its support for SMEs across all sectors in a single, accessible platform - the Business Growth Service - designed to help businesses across the UK start, scale, and succeed globally.
From tailored market advice and free Export Academy training to UK Export Finance and our on-the-ground network around the world that facilitate trade missions, we are making it easier for businesses to navigate global markets. We continue to review how we can improve our support, including how we connect firms to new opportunities, and build the capability to seize them.
Asked by: Gregor Poynton (Labour - Livingston)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of introducing targeted funding support for the purchase of used battery electric vehicles; and what steps her Department is taking to ensure parity of financial assistance between the (a) new and (b) used battery electric vehicle markets.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
We continue to work with industry to support a sustainable second-hand zero emission vehicle market. The Government expects that the Electric Car Grant (ECG) will have some benefit in the used market due to a higher supply of affordable vehicles in future years, and the grant’s requirement for an 8-year or 100,000-mile warranty for the vehicle’s battery, ensuring it will have a long useful life.
Asked by: Gregor Poynton (Labour - Livingston)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will take steps to ensure that imported construction products are subject to the same UKCA marking requirements as those manufactured in the UK.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
Construction products supplied to the GB market must be affixed with a UKCA or CE mark where they are covered by a designated standard under the UK Construction Product Regulations or where they conform to a UK technical assessment which has been issued for that product.
This reflects the written ministerial statement issued by the Minister for Building Safety and Homelessness on 2 September, which confirmed that CE marking would continue to be recognised when placing construction products on the market to remove unnecessary trade friction, promote growth and protect the UK internal market. Any subsequent changes to the recognition of CE marking would be subject to a minimum 2-year transitional period.
We published a construction products green paper setting out proposals for system wide reform including options for product marking. We will set out next steps in due course.