Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, pursuant to the answer of 28 November 2025, to Question 92594, on Cabinet Office: Public Expenditure, if he will publish the (a) evidential basis and (b) research underpinning the estimated regulatory cost; and whether this included assimilated EU law.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The methodology and evidence for the estimated baseline of the administrative burden of regulation on businesses of £22.4bn a year in 2024 prices is set out in the technical annex to the policy paper ‘A new approach to ensure regulators and regulation support growth’, published on 21st October 2025.
The baseline and resulting target apply from the start of April 2025 and reflect (by the methodology stated in the technical annex) our estimates of administrative burden of all UK government regulation at the time, including assimilated EU law.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, pursuant to the answer of 13 November 2025, to Question 88692, on Companies House: Recognition of States, if he will list each foreign nationality that is recognised by Companies House for the purposes of the Register of Companies that is not formally recognised by the UK Government as a nation.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The list of nationalities that are accepted for company filings is available here:
Nationalities and countries for company filings - GOV.UK
The use of a standard list of nationalities ensures that information in the Register of Companies is captured consistently and is transparent to users of the Register.
Presence of a nationality on the list does not imply formal recognition by Companies House or the UK Government more widely.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether Ministers in his Department have received coaching in foreign languages since July 2024.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
No Ministers have received any coaching in foreign languages since July 2024.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, further to the Ofcom "Call for input: Review of postal regulation – pricing and affordability", of 4 November 2025, whether stamp prices for ordinary customers will have to cross-subsided the proposed reduction in stamp prices for those on the social tariffs.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
As the independent regulator for postal services, Ofcom is responsible for decisions on price controls. The government does not have a role in Ofcom’s regulatory decisions.
Affordability is at the heart of Ofcom's regulatory framework. Ofcom will consult on any proposals, ahead of the expiry of the current control on Second Class letter prices in early 2027.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 13 November 2025 to Question 88693 on Stamp Advisory Committee, if he will list the dates that officials have attended meetings of the Stamp Advisory Committee since July 2024.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Stamp Advisory Committee meetings are confidential and a matter for Royal Mail. However, our records show that, since July 2024, a government official attended five meetings.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what discussions he is having with his European counterparts on the recognition of (a) legal qualifications and (b) other professional qualifications.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
HMG remains committed to making it easier for UK and EU professionals to have their qualifications recognised across regulated professions.
In the 2025 Common Understanding, the UK and EU committed to setting up dedicated dialogues on the Trade and Cooperation Agreement provisions which enable regulator-led, sector-specific recognition agreements to be negotiated.
The annual Trade Specialised Committee on Services, Investment and Digital Trade also provides a forum for the UK and EU to discuss the recognition of professional qualifications.
HMG encourages and supports UK regulators, including legal regulators, to work with their EU counterparts to improve recognition of professional qualifications, including through guidance and funding.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, pursuant to the answer of 18 November 2025, to Question 88690, on Unite: Conference Centres and Hotels, what steps (a) BDO, (b) the inspector and (c) the Certification Officer taken to ensure that documents held by Unite, Unite members and its contractors or sub-contractors, are not lost or destroyed, and whether any formal notices have been served to this effect.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
As previously publicly notified, an inspector, duly appointed by the Certification Officer, is carrying out the inspection under statutory powers. Accordingly, the Certification Officer is allowing that process to proceed. No formal notices have been served by the Certification Officer.
Section 33(7) of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 makes it an offence for any official or agent of a trade union to destroy, falsify or make false entries in documents relating to the union’s financial affairs.
BDO is a private entity, and the government cannot comment on its actions.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 18 November 2025 to Question 88691 on Jeffrey Epstein, whether the records are searchable by keyword.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Yes, digital records are searchable by keyword.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to the Cabinet Office Annual report and accounts 2024-2025, HC1372, 23 October 2025, with reference to the target to reduce the cost of regulation by 25% on page 7, what the Government’s latest estimate is of the total cost of regulation to businesses and organisations in the public sector; what baseline year and total monetary value were used to calculate the stated target to reduce that cost; and by what date the Government aims to achieve that reduction.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
We have estimated the baseline of the administrative burden of regulation on businesses (as at start of April 2025) at £22.4bn a year in 2024 prices. Our target is to reduce this figure by 25%, or £5.6bn, by the end of Parliament.
We have adopted a pragmatic and ‘top-down’ approach to estimating the baseline, drawing on a range of existing data sources including previous baselining exercises, DBT’s regular Business Perceptions Survey (BPS), DBT business population estimates and Office for National Statistics data on wages and labour costs.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
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 potential cost of the requirement in the Employment Rights Bill to give facility time to trade union equality representatives to (a) public and (b) private sector employers.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Employment Rights Bill creates a new statutory right for equality representatives to take reasonable paid time off to fulfil their duties. These representatives play a key role in raising awareness and promoting equal rights, including arranging training and consulting with employers on matters such as collective policies and practices. This will enable organisations to realise the benefits of being an equal opportunities employer.
The Department published an impact assessment on the Employment Rights Bill on 21 October 2024.