Asked by: Liz Jarvis (Liberal Democrat - Eastleigh)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether he has had discussions with (a) tea industry representatives, (b) Fairtrade organisations and (c) international partners on ensuring that tea (i) farmers and (ii) other workers receive a living wage in (A) Kenya and (B) other producing countries.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
No, we have had no such specific discussions, but we actively engage with Kenyan counterparts and remain committed to promoting fair trade and workers' rights, including decent working conditions and living wages.
Asked by: Liz Jarvis (Liberal Democrat - Eastleigh)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 13 October 2025 to Question 77729 on Horizon IT System: Compensation, whether his Department has a timeline for when this process will be available to claimants.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government is committed to ensuring that postmasters receive full and fair financial redress as quickly as possible. While we are not yet able to confirm a specific timeline due to the complexity of these cases where there is no evidence of shortfalls, work is progressing at pace. Work is underway to resolve claims where postmasters are awaiting Fixed Sum Offers under the Horizon Shortfall Scheme due to a lack of available data to verify that shortfalls occurred.
Asked by: Liz Jarvis (Liberal Democrat - Eastleigh)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what estimate he has made of the number of high-skilled jobs that will be created through the Life Sciences Sector Plan; and what steps he is taking to ensure that these will be distributed across regions.
Answered by Chris McDonald - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Life Sciences Sector Plan sets out a long-term vision to grow the UK's life sciences sector and create high-skilled jobs nationwide. In 2023/24, the sector employed almost 360,000 people across the UK. Around 60% of employment in the sector is based at companies registered outside of the London and South East regions. Many actions in the Plan - including a £520m innovative manufacturing fund - are designed to create and safeguard high-skilled, high-wage jobs. Our funds have already delivered over 1,900 jobs, with significantly more expected as the £520m scheme progresses. We will keep working with industry to address priority skills gaps.
Asked by: Liz Jarvis (Liberal Democrat - Eastleigh)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether his Department plans to review the exemption of small care companies from submitting audited accounts under section 477 of the Companies Act 2006.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government has delivered legislation which has increased the monetary size thresholds for micro-entities, small, medium-sized and large companies. This has extended access to the small companies audit exemption to 14,000 companies reclassified from being medium-sized to small. Together, the measures in this legislation are already saving UK businesses £240 million per year.
The Government is continuing to work to identify reforms to company reporting and audit requirements to reduce the administrative burden of regulation. We will consult further in due course.
Asked by: Liz Jarvis (Liberal Democrat - Eastleigh)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether he has made an assessment of whether the processes used by Uber to deactivate drivers from its platform complies with UK employment law.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government does not make individual assessments of companies' compliance with employment law. The Supreme Court's 2021 ruling on Uber drivers established that many drivers should be classified as workers with corresponding rights under UK employment law. Enforcement of employment law is undertaken by appropriate regulatory bodies including HMRC for National Minimum Wage, the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate, and ultimately the employment tribunal system.
Any worker who believes their rights have been breached can seek redress through an employment tribunal, which determines compliance on a case-by-case basis.
Asked by: Liz Jarvis (Liberal Democrat - Eastleigh)
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 promote workplace diversity and inclusion.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
DBT’s Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) Framework - Embracing Fairness for All (2024-28) is aligned to the cross-Civil Service strategy and includes specific actions such as training to build inclusive line management capability. The framework sets out our approach to D&I, aiming to enhance opportunity, fairness and belonging for all our people, in all our locations by using data to ensure it is evidence led. We work with our Diversity and Inclusion Networks to collaborate and engage on D&I activity.
Asked by: Liz Jarvis (Liberal Democrat - Eastleigh)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether he plans to (a) expand the role of post offices as one-stop-shops for a range of needs and (b) enhance their role in government service delivery.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Government published a Green Paper on 14 July, seeking views on the future of the Post Office, from the services it provides, how we modernise and strengthen the network, through to changing the culture and the way in which the Post Office is managed.
The consultation closed on 6 October and we thank all individuals and organisations for their detailed responses to our Green Paper which included proposals on expanding the role of post offices and on the provision of Government services. Government is carefully considering all responses to the Green Paper and aims to respond in early 2026.
Asked by: Liz Jarvis (Liberal Democrat - Eastleigh)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, when Horizon redress claimants where no evidence of shortfalls can be established will have their claims assessed.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
We are aware that some postmasters are waiting for their Horizon Shortfall Scheme Fixed Sum Offer due to a lack of available data to verify that shortfalls occurred. To help address this, the Post Office is conducting further investigations using branch files to identify potential Horizon-related shortfalls. Where evidence is found, fixed sum payments are being issued as quickly as possible.
In cases where additional information is needed, the Post Office will reach out to these individuals for further information about the shortfalls that they experienced.
Asked by: Liz Jarvis (Liberal Democrat - Eastleigh)
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 the growth of the night-time economy in Eastleigh constituency.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government recognises the vital role that night-time venues, including those in Eastleigh constituency play in supporting local economies.
In April, the Government established the Licensing Taskforce, bringing together representatives from the hospitality industry to help shape reform. The Government’s response, published on 31 July, set out proposals for a new National Licensing Policy Framework designed to simplify outdated licensing rules and protect long-standing venues from noise complaints, which are particularly relevant to the night-time economy.
Additionally, we are reforming the business rates system to support high street investment, including permanently lower rates for retail, hospitality and leisure properties with a rateable value under £500,000.
Asked by: Liz Jarvis (Liberal Democrat - Eastleigh)
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 potential implications for his small business plan of research published by Intuit QuickBooks in August 2025 entitled Intuit QuickBooks Small Business Index.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government published its Small Business Plan in July 2025 delivering the most comprehensive package of support for small and medium sized businesses in a generation
The Plan outlines a series of actions, including unlocking access to finance, ending the scourge of late payments and revitalising high streets. It was developed through engagement with businesses and drew on a significant body of evidence and research. The Intuit report referenced was published after the Plan’s launch.
We will continue to monitor delivery of the Small Business Plan and work with businesses as we implement it, alongside the Modern Industrial and Trade Strategies.