Asked by: Jim McMahon (Labour (Co-op) - Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether he is taking steps to support the rebuilding of Ukraine through UK to Ukraine economic trade expansion.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
My department is working to match British business expertise with Ukraine’s reconstruction needs, including through commitments in the UK-Ukraine 100 Year Partnership Agreement.
We extended tariff-free trade under our bilateral Free Trade Agreement on most goods until 2029, offering the most generous tariff concessions of any country. The UK-Ukraine Digital Trade Agreement has updated our digital trading arrangements for the modern age to help Ukraine rebuild its economy. Additionally, we continue to work with the Government of Ukraine to address market access barriers and identify and address priority reconstruction needs through the UK-Ukraine Infrastructure Taskforce and our Project Development Programme.
Asked by: Jim McMahon (Labour (Co-op) - Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what information his Department holds on the assessed domestic (a) brick (b) roof tile (c) steel (d) aggregate (e) plasterboard (f) construction grade timber production capacity for each year from 2015 to date.
Answered by Chris McDonald - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Department does not hold data on assessed domestic production capacity for bricks, roof tiles, steel, aggregates, plasterboard or construction-grade timber. Information on building materials is published in our official statistics - Building material and components: monthly statistics – GOV.UK, UK Manufacturers’ sale by product – Office for National Statistics, World Steel in Figures and 2025 - 2: UK-Grown Timber - Forest Research.
Asked by: Jim McMahon (Labour (Co-op) - Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many sub postmasters have had claims (a) settled and (b) not settled related to the Horizon issue.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
As of 31 October 2025, around 9,300 claims have been settled across the Horizon redress schemes, with around 3,000 claims received not yet settled.
The total number of settled claims includes 71 full and final settlements made under the former Overturned Convictions scheme prior to its closure on 2 June 2025. The 40 Overturned Convictions claims not fully settled are now being administered through the Horizon Convictions Redress Scheme (HCRS).
The table below illustrates the progress to date across the schemes and is available on GOV.UK. The Department only reports on claims received, as there is not a fixed cohort of claims across these schemes.
Scheme | Full & Final Claims received | Full & Final Offers made | Full & Final Offers accepted | Full & Final claims paid |
Horizon Shortfall Scheme: eligible claims before deadline | 2,417 | 2,417 | 2,129 | 2,129 |
Horizon Shortfall Scheme: eligible late claims | 8,823 | 6,919 | 6,236 | 6,192 |
Group Litigation Order Scheme | 476 | 473 | 400 | 396 |
Horizon Convictions Redress Scheme | 462 | 460 | 447 | 445 |
Asked by: Jim McMahon (Labour (Co-op) - Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of trends in the number of self service check outs at supermarkets and convenience stores on the number of jobs in those sectors since 2015.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Department for Business and Trade has no plans to assess the impact of self-service checkouts on employment levels in the retail sector since 2015.
Decisions about in-store services in supermarkets, including provision of staffed and self-checkout tills are rightly a matter for individual retailers. The Government recognises that the retail sector continues to be an important employer in the UK economy and while technological changes may alter the nature of some roles within the sector, they can also create new opportunities and job types across the retail industry.
The Government continues to engage with the industry, including through the Retail Sector Council, which brings together employers, unions and other stakeholders to address challenges and opportunities.
Asked by: Jim McMahon (Labour (Co-op) - Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what the total number of calls (a) answered (b) abandoned was for each public helpline numbers provided by his Department and its executive agencies for each year from 2015 to date.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
This information is not held centrally and would exceed the disproportionate cost threshold to estimate these figures.
Any member of the public can get in touch with the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) helplines on +44 (0) 20 4551 0011 or via our website.
Asked by: Jim McMahon (Labour (Co-op) - Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment has been made of the effectiveness of checks on new company formation with Companies House.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Companies House has developed and is continuing to develop capabilities in data analysis and measures to prevent the registration of misleading information and to better understand what measures will prove effective in preventing the registration of misleading information.
As of 31 October 2025, Companies has addressed 148,084 compliance issues involving 85,201 companies. Performance in this reporting period is on track to meet the ministerial target set out in Companies House’s 2025-2026 Business Plan to act against 150,000 companies.
Asked by: Jim McMahon (Labour (Co-op) - Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many companies registered with Companies House were a). trading b). dormant and c). pending strike off action for each year from 2015 to date.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The following table shows the total size of the Register of Companies and the trading status of companies in the specified periods:
Financial Year | Total register at end of period | Trading Status | |
Trading | Dormant | ||
2015-16 | 3,678,860 | 3,191,442 | 487,418 |
2016-17 | 3,896,755 | 3,398,018 | 498,737 |
2017-18 | 4,033,355 | 3,528,417 | 504,938 |
2018-19 | 4,202,044 | 3,681,450 | 520,594 |
2019-20 | 4,350,913 | 3,811,504 | 539,409 |
2020-21 | 4,716,126 | 4,159,227 | 556,899 |
2021-22 | 4,894,356 | 4,294,680 | 599,676 |
2022-23 | 5,116,743 | 4,474,920 | 641,823 |
2023-24 | 5,350,759 | 4,697,033 | 653,726 |
2024-25 | 5,427,787 | 4,757,947 | 669,840 |
The following table shows the status of entities on the register at the start and end of the reporting period:
Financial Year | Total register at end of period | Effective register at end of period | In course of dissolution | In liquidation |
2015-16 | 3,678,860 | 3,433,780 | 160,419 | 84,661 |
2016-17 | 3,896,755 | 3,648,478 | 159,802 | 88,475 |
2017-18 | 4,033,355 | 3,770,022 | 172,455 | 90,878 |
2018-19 | 4,202,044 | 3,926,374 | 185,065 | 90,605 |
2019-20 | 4,350,913 | 4,064,063 | 194,049 | 92,801 |
2020-21 | 4,716,126 | 4,410,236 | 210,732 | 95,158 |
2021-22 | 4,894,356 | 4,499,342 | 293,784 | 101,230 |
2022-23 | 5,116,743 | 4,645,402 | 364,998 | 106,343 |
2023-24 | 5,350,759 | 4,876,374 | 365,033 | 109,352 |
2024-25 | 5,427,787 | 4,872,293 | 443,076 | 112,418 |
Figures in both tables are extracted from management information. They are unaudited and subject to change.
Due to timing differences, discrepancies can occur between the register status statistics and the trading status statistics. Consequently, the trading status statistics have been adjusted proportionally to align with the Official Statistics publication.
A review of the statistics regularly published is ongoing.
Asked by: Jim McMahon (Labour (Co-op) - Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton)
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 year-round fireworks displays by commercial venues (a) in and (b) near residential areas on social well-being.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
No assessment has been made of the potential impact of year-round fireworks displays by commercial venues in and near residential areas on social well-being.
The Government recently launched new guidance for community groups and event organisers on running safe and considerate fireworks displays covering fireworks safety, the gathering of crowds and the impact on the local community. This supplements existing guidance from Government and other organisations that is available to help people to use fireworks safely.
Asked by: Jim McMahon (Labour (Co-op) - Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton)
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 effectiveness of Government-funded business development support in the co-operative and mutual sectors.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Department for Business and Trade committed to launch a Call for Evidence on co-operative and mutual business. The Call for Evidence will focus on how the government can continue to support co-operative and mutual businesses, to start, grow and scale, as well as support for existing businesses who want to transition to become a co-operative or mutual.
As part of this, we will be collecting data on existing business support for co-operatives and mutuals, including, but not limited to government funded support.
Asked by: Jim McMahon (Labour (Co-op) - Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton)
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 help support the growth of the co-operative sector.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Department for Business and Trade committed to launch a Call for Evidence on co-operative and mutual business. The Call for Evidence will focus on how the government can continue to support co-operative and mutual businesses, to start, grow and scale, as well as support for existing businesses who want to transition to become a co-operative or mutual.
DBT is also looking at how to integrate support for co-operatives and mutuals within the government’s overall approach for supporting SMEs, including what we can do via the Business Growth Service, and through DBT funded Growth Hubs (England only) which aim to support local businesses, including co-operative and mutuals.