Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton West)
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 proposed new powers for the Fair Work Agency on levels of regulation for businesses.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
An impact assessment for the Fair Work Agency (FWA) was published on 21st October 2024.
The FWA will take a balanced approach to upholding workers’ rights, providing better support on how to comply with the law but taking tough action against rogue employers who exploit their workers. Every business will be treated with fairness and equity, but it is not fair when businesses who want to do right by their staff are undercut by a minority who flout the law.
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton West)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps he is taking to ensure that enforcement powers for the Fair Work Agency are (a) proportionate and (b) equitable for (i) employees and (ii) businesses.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Fair Work Agency (FWA) will not change the obligations on businesses who should always have been paying their workers correctly. The FWA’s enforcement powers are largely natural evolutions of powers that existing bodies have.
The FWA will take a balanced approach to upholding workers’ rights and provide better support to businesses on how to comply with the law and will take tough action against rogue employers who exploit their workers. Most businesses want to do right by their staff, and it is not fair when they are undercut by a minority who flout the law.
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton West)
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 implications for his policies of the productivity forecast in the Office for Budget Responsibility’s report entitled Economic and Fiscal Outlook, published on 26 March 2025.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Office for Budget Responsibility is an independent macroeconomic forecasting body. As such it would not be appropriate for us to comment on the specifics of its forecasts.
The Government’s forthcoming Industrial Strategy White Paper has an explicit ambition to support productivity, as well as economic growth, jobs, and wages across the UK, by delivering a credible 10-year plan which provides the certainty and stability businesses need to invest in the high-growth sectors that will drive our growth in the future.
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton West)
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 chemical sector.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The chemicals sector underpins almost all manufacturing in the UK and is fundamental to maximising growth and productivity across the economy to drive forward the government’s missions, including delivering growth for all. Reforms are underway to address planning barriers to growth, channel finance towards growth priorities and accelerate the transition to net zero.
This will be supported by our modern Industrial Strategy which will implement targeted policy interventions to drive long-term sustainable, inclusive and secure growth.
Last autumn’s Budget announced continued support for Energy Intensive Industries – including chemical companies – through £350M of additional funding across the next two years.
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton West)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what recent discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on business rates.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
We are creating a fairer business rates system that protects the high street, supports investment, and is fit for the 21st century. The Secretary of State works closely with all his cabinet colleagues, including the Chancellor of the Exchequer.
To deliver our manifesto pledge, we intend to introduce permanently lower tax rates for retail, hospitality, and leisure (RHL) properties, including those on the high street, from 2026-27. The Government has also published a Discussion Paper setting out priority areas for business rates reform and inviting industry to co-design a fairer business rates system: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/transforming-business-rates
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton West)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps he is taking to help safeguard jobs in the UK automotive supply chain.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The automotive industry is an important part of the Government’s plans for growth. Through our modern Industrial Strategy, we will support growth sectors to create high-quality, well-paid jobs across the country.
The Budget committed over £2 billion of capital and R&D funding to 2030 for zero emission vehicle manufacturing and their supply chains. Building on the achievements of the Automotive Transformation Fund and Advanced Propulsion Centre R&D programmes, we will launch a new initiative, kickstarting economic growth by supporting good jobs and productivity growth across the UK automotive sector. The Industrial Strategy will provide more details in the Spring.
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton West)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps he is taking to encourage business confidence.
Answered by Gareth Thomas - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Growth is the number one mission of the Government and we will continue to work with and listen carefully to the business community. In the Budget, the Government was forced to make difficult choices to plug the black hole in the Government’s finances, but the fundamentals for doing business in the UK remains strong. The Government has already taken steps to strengthen business and investor confidence through, reforming the planning system, getting people back to work and creating the growth and skills levy. DBT is driving long term, inclusive growth through our Industrial Strategy, Trade Strategy, Small Business Strategy and Plan to Make Work Pay.
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton West)
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 hospitality sector.
Answered by Gareth Thomas - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Hospitality businesses are at the heart of our communities and are vital for economic growth.
This is why the Government is creating a fairer business rate system, reducing alcohol duty on qualifying draught products and transforming the apprenticeship levy to support business and boost opportunities. This work will be supported by the publication of The Small Business Strategy Command Paper next year.
Through the Hospitality Sector Council, we are addressing strategic issues for the sector related to high street regeneration, skills, sustainability, and productivity.
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton West)
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 Post Office closures on local communities.
Answered by Gareth Thomas - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The UK Government is as committed as ever to ensuring the long-term sustainability of the Post Office network. It is inevitable that with a network of this size, there will be variations in the number of branches open at any one time. As postmasters move on, branches close and new ones open. The Post Office Chair’s recent announcement on the future of the Post Office has led to concerns around potential closures of Directly Managed Branches. However, no decisions have yet been taken on the future of any individual branch. While the Post Office network can fluctuate between areas and regions, the Post Office works with communities to consider how to best meet needs for Post Office services in a local area. The Government-set Access Criteria ensures that however the network changes, services remain within local reach of all citizens.
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton West)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if he will take steps to reduce regulation for businesses.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government is determined to kick-start economic growth, which is why it is essential that we identify areas where the costs of regulations may be unnecessarily high and burdensome for businesses. This is why the Department is developing an ambitious regulatory reform agenda to ensure that any future regulation, or reforms to regulation, work for businesses, consumers and supports the Government’s growth mission. As part of this, we are working across government to identify regulatory reforms that will support the Industrial Strategy. Our proposals will be set out in due course.