Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
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 independent pubs in urban areas.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government recognises the significant role hospitality businesses play in driving economic growth, employment and community cohesion across the UK. That is why we are offering targeted support for the sector.
We've permanently lowered tax rates for retail, hospitality and leisure properties with a rateable value under £500,000, worth nearly £900 million annually, benefitting over 750,000 properties. The new relief rates are permanent, giving businesses certainty and stability, and there will be no cap so all qualifying properties will benefit. The government has also introduced a support package worth £4.3 billion over the next three years to protect ratepayers seeing their bills increase because of the revaluation.
The Chancellor announced a new National Licensing Policy Framework as part of her budget. This sets out a vision for a proportionate licensing system that supports good businesses while continuing to tackle bad operators.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
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 bring high skilled jobs to former coalfield areas.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government is committed to revitalising former coalfield areas by driving local growth and creating high-skilled, long-term employment through targeted industrial and regional strategies. In the Industrial Strategy we announced £1.2 billion of additional investment in skills per year by 2028-29.
On 23 June 2025, the Government published the Industrial Strategy Zones Action Plan, which consolidates previous Freeport and Investment Zone programmes. Several Investment Zones are located in or near former coalfield heartlands, including the East Midlands, South Yorkshire, and the North East. These zones receive up to £160 million over 10 years for tax incentives and interventions in skills and infrastructure.
The Government continues to work with the Coalfields Regeneration Trust, which supported over 7,200 people in 2024/25 to improve their skills and job opportunities. In Wales, the Welsh Government provides specific capital grants to safeguard and improve community facilities in coalfield communities.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps he is taking to support the construction industry.
Answered by Chris McDonald - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
We work in partnership with the Construction Leadership Council, which I co-chair.
The Planning and Infrastructure Act will speed up and streamline delivery of new homes and infrastructure, we are investing £39 billion over ten years through the Social and Affordable Homes Programme, and our New Homes Accelerator is accelerating delivery of housing sites – speeding up building of over 100,000 homes across England in its first year.
Our 10-year Industrial Strategy recognises construction as a priority, backing faster planning and offsite manufacturing, and we are providing £625 million to tackle construction skills shortages by training up to 60,000 more workers.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether he has had recent discussions with Royal Mail on standards of service.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Ministers and officials have discussions with Royal Mail on a regular basis in its capacity as the universal service provider.
Last November, I met the CEOs of Royal Mail and International Distribution Services and raised concerns about Royal Mail’s performance. They reported continued targeted action to improve reliability. I will continue to raise concerns with Royal Mail if quality of service does not improve.
Ofcom, the independent regulator of postal services, sets and monitors Royal Mail’s regulated service standards and decides how to use its powers to investigate and take enforcement action should Royal Mail fail to achieve its obligations without sufficient justification.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what discussions he has had with businesses on ensuring customers can contact them on the telephone and not just by email.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Under the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013, businesses are obligated to provide contact information in a clear and comprehensible manner which is easily, directly and permanently accessible. This includes the business name, the geographical address where the business is established, a telephone number, and email address.
The specific mechanisms businesses use to provide customer services is a commercial decision that the government does not normally seek to intervene in.
While there is no record of a specific discussion on this matter, the Department engages regularly with businesses on consumer law.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many Trading Standards enforcement officers there were in each (a) region, (b) local authority area and (c) parliamentary constituency in each year for the past 5 years.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Trading Standards enforcement officers are the responsibility of individual Local Authorities.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many people have been a) arrested b) charged and c) convicted in relation to (i) underage and (ii) illicit sales of cigarettes each year for the past five years.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Department for Business and Trade does not hold this data.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether their Department has run any (a) recruitment and (b) internship schemes aimed to increase the number of people from underrepresented groups in the workforce in the last year.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Civil Service People Plan 2024–2027 commits to attracting and retaining diverse talent. Recruitment follows the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010, ensuring fair and open competition based on merit.
Going Forward into Employment (GFiE) supports inclusive recruitment pathways, welcoming individuals from low socio-economic backgrounds, and other categories. GFiE helps participants gain skills, experience, and career opportunities.
From October 2024 to October 2025, the Department supported the Autism Exchange Internship Programme, offering eight placements.
The Department guarantees interviews for disabled applicants who meet the minimum criteria under the Disability Confident Interview Scheme.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if he will have discussions with retailers on the potential impact of trends in the level of business costs on (a) staffing levels and (b) lone working practices.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Staffing levels and business lone working policies are commercial matters for individual businesses to decide. An employer must identify the risks to lone workers and put control measures in place to protect them. It is for the employer to determine the best way to manage those risks taking account of the circumstances of their business and work activity. HSE provide guidance on lone working: Lone working: Protect those working alone - HSE.
The government is protecting the smallest businesses by increasing the Employment Allowance to £10,500. This means that this year, 865,000 employers will pay no NICs at all, more than half of employers see no change or gain overall from this package and employers will be able to employ up to four full-time workers on the National Living Wage and pay no employer NICs.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
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 pubs.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government recognises the vital role pubs play in supporting local economies and fostering community cohesion, as well as the pressures they face.
That is why we established the Licensing Taskforce in April, bringing together representatives from the hospitality sector to help shape reforms. We published the Government’s response on 31 July, setting out a new National Licensing Policy Framework to simplify outdated rules and protect long-standing venues from noise complaints. These reforms form part of the recently announced Small Business Strategy, which aims to tackle late payments, boost access to finance, and remove red tape to enable small businesses, including pubs, grow and thrive.
Additionally, we’re creating a fairer business rates system that protects the high street and supports investment, including permanently lower rates for retail, hospitality and leisure properties under £500,000 rateable value. We’ve also launched a Hospitality Support Scheme to co-fund projects aligned with DBT and Hospitality Sector Council priorities such as Pub is The Hub to encourage local investment.