Asked by: Jonathan Reynolds (Labour (Co-op) - Stalybridge and Hyde)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if she will make an assessment of the effectiveness of the UK Tradeshow Programme.
Answered by Greg Hands
The Government announced the UK Tradeshow Programme as a pilot programme and feasibility study in November 2021. The programme did not yield the successes we might have hoped, and was closed in March 2023.
Asked by: Jonathan Reynolds (Labour (Co-op) - Stalybridge and Hyde)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to the answer of 19 April 2023 to Question 180116 on Audit: Reform, how many hours officials in her Department have worked on legislative proposals on reform of audit and corporate governance since the publication of the Restoring trust in audit and corporate governance white paper, CP382.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Shadow Minister without Portfolio
The Department does not keep records of work assignment at a project level, nor on an hourly basis. The table below sets out estimates of the number of officials in the Department who were working on legislative proposals for reform of audit and associated legislative reforms of corporate governance, in September of each year since the publication of the White Paper in 2021.
September 2021 | c. 21 |
September 2022 | 19 |
September 2023 | 15 |
Asked by: Jonathan Reynolds (Labour (Co-op) - Stalybridge and Hyde)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many civil servants in her Department are currently working on negotiations for (a) free trade agreements with (i) India, (ii) Canada, (iii) Mexico, (iv) Israel, (v) the Gulf Cooperation Council and (b) memoranda of understanding with US states.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
The Department for Business and Trade operates a flexible resourcing model to maximise efficiency across negotiations. The Department is currently delivering seven trade negotiations, alongside work on the US. The number of staff working on these will change depending on the stage and scale of the deal. Staff work across multiple negotiations so it is not possible to quantify the number for each workstream.
With the Machine of Government, Trade Negotiation Group increased its responsibility to cover wider trade policy and FTA implementation. In September 2023, DBT had 724 staff in the newly named Trade Policy, Implementation and Negotiations Group.
Asked by: Jonathan Reynolds (Labour (Co-op) - Stalybridge and Hyde)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many civil servants worked on legislative proposals relating to audit reform in each of the last five years.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Shadow Minister without Portfolio
The table below gives the number of officials in the Department working on legislative proposals relating to reform of audit and associated legislative reforms of corporate governance, in September of each of the last five years. Figures for 2019-21 are estimates based on information readily available.
September 2019 | c. 20 |
September 2020 | c. 15 |
September 2021 | c. 21 |
September 2022 | 19 |
September 2023 | 15 |
Asked by: Jonathan Reynolds (Labour (Co-op) - Stalybridge and Hyde)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether it is her Department's policy to support the renewal of the WTO e-commerce moratorium beyond 2024.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
My Department supports the renewal of the WTO e-commerce moratorium. We are working with WTO Members and interested stakeholders to deliver this outcome at the 13th WTO Ministerial Conference. The moratorium underpins global digital trade and provides certainty that electronic transmissions will not be subject to customs duties. My Department is clear that we support a permanent prohibition of such duties, as outlined in our Digital Trade Objectives and the G7 Digital Trade Principles developed under the 2021 UK Presidency.
My Department is also committed to agreeing rules against customs duties on electronic transmissions in the UK’s bilateral trade agreements.
Asked by: Jonathan Reynolds (Labour (Co-op) - Stalybridge and Hyde)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how much of the automotive transformation fund has been distributed to businesses.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani
As of May 2023, the total value of offers made under the Automotive Transformation Fund (ATF) is £278.5 million. In addition, we are in active discussions with investors on a wide range of exciting new projects for the UK's electric vehicle supply chain.
Asked by: Jonathan Reynolds (Labour (Co-op) - Stalybridge and Hyde)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 22 February 2022 to Question 146960 on Small Businesses: Billing, when she plans to publish the findings of the Prompt payment and cash flow review.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Shadow Minister without Portfolio
As set out in the published terms of reference (www.gov.uk/government/publica-tions/prompt-payment-and-cash-flow-review/payment-and-cash-flow-review-terms-of-refer-ence), we will publish a conclusions document in 2023 which will:
• summarise our findings in response to the engagement undertaken, and next steps;
• respond to the consultation on the Payment Practices and Performance Regulations 2017;
• set out the findings of the statutory review on the performance of the Small Business Commissioner.
Asked by: Jonathan Reynolds (Labour (Co-op) - Stalybridge and Hyde)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with which trade unions her Department has had discussions on legislative proposals relating to employment since she became Secretary of State.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Shadow Minister without Portfolio
The Government is supporting six Private Members Bills to increase workforce participation, protect vulnerable workers, and level the playing field, ensuring unscrupulous businesses do not have a competitive advantage. Relevant trade unions were consulted prior to and throughout the development of these reforms.
The Government regularly discusses legislative proposals with the trade unions and has recently engaged with unions on the Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Bill, which is currently progressing through the House of Lords.
I recently met with Trades Union Congress, and the Secretary of State is also scheduled to meet with the General Secretary of the Trades Union Congress in April to discuss shared interests.
Asked by: Jonathan Reynolds (Labour (Co-op) - Stalybridge and Hyde)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, when her Department plans to publish the list of ministerial responsibilities.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
Ministerial responsibilities will be published in due course.