Asked by: Joshua Reynolds (Liberal Democrat - Maidenhead)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what plans he has to provide Parliament with the opportunity to scrutinise the US-UK Economic Prosperity Deal before its provisions take effect.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Any final agreement will be scrutinised by Parliament in line with established procedures.
Any primary or secondary legislation required to implement an agreement will also be subject to standard legislative procedures.
Asked by: Joshua Reynolds (Liberal Democrat - Maidenhead)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what support his Department is providing to small and medium-sized exporters to maintain tariff relief secured under the US-UK Economic Prosperity Deal.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
It was this government that got the first trade deal with the US, protecting British jobs and saving people money. We remain the only country to have secured a 10% tariff on cars within quota, agreed a 0% tariff on pharmaceutical exports to the US, and avoided the 50% global steel and aluminium tariff.
The Department for Business and Trade has integrated its support for SMEs in a single, accessible place – the Business Growth Service – designed to help businesses across the UK start, scale, and succeed globally. UK businesses can access guidance on exporting, including to the US, via business.gov.uk.
Asked by: Joshua Reynolds (Liberal Democrat - Maidenhead)
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 trade negotiations with the United States under the US-UK Economic Prosperity Deal on UK food safety standards of agriculture provision.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
On 8 May 2025, the UK Government announced a landmark economic deal with the US that included new reciprocal market access on beef – giving UK farmers a guaranteed quota for 13,000 metric tonnes of beef exports.
All food imports into the UK, including those agreed with the US, must comply with all of the UK’s import requirements, including sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) rules. Decisions on food safety standards are always made in the interest of protecting human, animal or plant life or health in the UK.
Asked by: Joshua Reynolds (Liberal Democrat - Maidenhead)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the UK-US Pharmaceuticals Deal concluded in December 2025 on (a) NHS procurement costs and (b) consumer access to affordable medicines before any provisions of that Deal take effect.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
There are no current plans to publish an impact assessment or modelling on the United Kingdom and United States’ pharmaceutical trade deal. Further detail on the deal will be shared in due course.
Tens of thousands of National Health Service patients will benefit from this deal, which will secure and expand access to vital drugs, and thereby safeguard our medicines supply chain.
Costs will start smaller but will increase over time as the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) approves more life improving and lifesaving medicines. Total costs over the Spending Review period are expected to be approximately £1 billion. The final costs will depend on which medicines NICE recommends and the actual uptake of these.
This deal is a vital investment that builds on the strength of our NHS and world leading life sciences sector, without taking essential funding from our frontline NHS services.
Asked by: Joshua Reynolds (Liberal Democrat - Maidenhead)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the proposed increase in English language requirements to B2 level on Hong Kong families using the British National (Overseas) visa route where household members have varying levels of educational attainment.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Government remains steadfast in its support for members of the Hong Kong community in the UK.
BN(O) visa holders will attract a 5-year reduction in the qualifying period for settlement, meaning they will continue to be able to settle in the UK after 5 years’ residence, subject to meeting the mandatory requirements.
We are seeking views on earned settlement through the public consultation A Fairer Pathway to Settlement and will continue to listen to the views of Hong Kongers. Details of the earned settlement model will be finalised following that consultation. An impact assessment will be developed alongside the finalised policy and published in due course.
In the meantime, the current rules for settlement under the BN(O) route will continue to apply, including the current B1 English language requirement.