Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, what steps he is taking to encourage applicants from Northern Ireland to apply for assistance from the Music Export Growth Scheme in this financial year.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade) (Jointly with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
My department publishes details of the Music Export Grant Scheme (MEGS) on the government’s ‘Find a Grant’ site, Home - Find a grant and we work with UK music partners to promote the scheme to music businesses across the UK, including Northern Ireland.
In MEGS funding round 25, which ran from May to August 2026 and the current funding round 26, for which applications closed on 7 September 2026, we received just one application from a Northern Ireland-based applicant out of 143 applications from both funding rounds. The next MEGS funding round 27 is scheduled to open in February 2027.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, which programme partners are involved in the National Quantum Strategy over the next five years.
Answered by Chris McDonald - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
In March 2026, the Government launched the next phase of the national quantum programme, announcing up to £2bn to accelerate quantum technology development and adoption.
Programme delivery depends on partners including the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), Innovate UK, Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC), National Quantum Computing Centre (NQCC) and National Physical Laboratory (NPL), and the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC). They provide the expertise, infrastructure and capability needed to realise the UK’s quantum ambitions and deliver economic and societal benefits.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, what has been the change in the number of interventions under the National Security and Investment Act 2021, in acquisitions of entities and assets in, or linked to, the UK that may pose national security risks in the past three years.
Answered by Chris McDonald - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government publishes information on the operation of the National Security and Investment (NSI) Act 2021 in its annual reports. The most recent report, covering the 2025/26 reporting period, can be found on GOV.UK (National Security and Investment Act - Annual Reports), accompanied by a spreadsheet which covers data for previous reporting periods. It shows that the Government made 9 final orders in 2025/26, 17 final orders in 2024/25 and 5 final orders in 2023/24.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what was the breakdown by constituency in the past two years of assistance offered to businesses by the Investment Fund for Northern Ireland.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade) (Jointly with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The British Business Bank does not specifically collect constituency data for businesses supported by the Investment Fund for Northern Ireland. As of December 2025, the British Business Bank announced that in the two years since its launch, the £70 million Investment Fund for Northern Ireland has directly invested £30 million into local firms. In addition, these investments into smaller businesses on differing stages of their growth journey have crowded in co-investment of around £45 million, bringing the total investment level to over £75 million.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if he will help ensure that Departmental officials undertake to meet with Members from Northern Ireland following requests for such a meeting regarding the steel tariffs issue.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
Yes.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if he will he consult on introducing a statutory Minimum Expiry Period for gift cards offered by retailers.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Minister of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade)
The Department asked the Law Commission to examine the protection given to consumer prepayments, including gift cards and vouchers, and consider whether such protections should be strengthened. The Law Commission concluded that that there was no need to introduce additional measures for gift cards and vouchers including in relation to expiry dates.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether he has had discussions with the Secretary of State for the Home Department on the creation of fake operatives posing as remote workers by North Korea.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Minister of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade)
The Secretary of State has not had any discussions with the Home Secretary on this issue.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment he has made of the level of dependence of the hospitality industry on younger employees and those paid the National Living Wage.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Minister of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade)
Hospitality employs many young people - with ONS statistics reporting that around 42% of all hospitality workers are between the ages of 16-24 (2023). That is why, from April 2026, foundation apprenticeships will expand into hospitality, with up to £2,000 available for non‑levy‑paying SMEs hiring apprentices aged 16–24.
The Low Pay Commission reports that 24.6% of hospitality jobs in 2025 were paid at or close to the statutory minimum. This reflects combined statutory minimum‑wage exposure and does not provide NLW‑only estimates.
From 1 April 2026, the NLW will rise by 4.1% to £12.71 for eligible workers aged 21 and over.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, when he plans to respond to the written correspondence from the hon. Member for East Londonderry dated 6 February 2026 on a Music Export Growth Scheme Application.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
The Department of Business and Trade aims to respond to correspondence in 15 working days, but in some instances it can take longer. The Department apologises for the delay and confirms that the response has now been issued.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, pursuant to Questions 112100 and 115340, what was the breakdown in each of the years specified in Northern Ireland.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
None in 2024 and 4 in 2025.