Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many employees in his Department earn (a) £100,000 and (b) £166,000 or more per year.
Answered by Justin Madders
Information on the number of individuals directly employed by the Department who earn £100,000 or more, including those earning £166,000 or more, is published on a quarterly basis in the Department’s organograms. These set out senior civil service pay details for staff employed within the core Department and are available on data.gov.uk.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many and what proportion of departmental procurement contracts were awarded to British companies in the last financial year.
Answered by Justin Madders
In the financial year 2024-25, the Department awarded 274 contracts, 239 (87.2%) of which were to UK companies.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many staff in his Department have permission to work remotely outside the UK; and in which countries those staff are based.
Answered by Justin Madders
Standard DBT policy is that staff should not normally be allowed to work remotely overseas however the department do permit this under exceptional personal circumstances and following/preceding a period of annual leave when visiting family or friends overseas.
As of 4th July there are 16 approved applications across DBT to temporarily work overseas for a set period of time. All 16 are contractually are based in the UK.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how much his Department has spent on (a) social media promotions, (b) influencer marketing and (c) online advertising in the last 12 months.
Answered by Justin Madders
Commercial sensitivities exist around aspects of this spend which could prejudice commercial interests. All spend in these areas are subject to the standard value for money assessments.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how much their Department has spent on (a) translation and (b) interpretation for languages other than (i) British Sign Language and (ii) languages native to the UK for people contacting (A) their Department and (B) its agencies in 2025.
Answered by Justin Madders
The Department for Business and Trade does not record the costs for translation and interpretation at this level of detail.
We can confirm the Department for Business and Trade spent £58,149.01 on translation services from 1 January 2025 – 27 June 2025.
As the department for economic growth, we support businesses to invest, grow and export, creating jobs and opportunities across the country. This figure includes providing translation services and also where the Department required translations or interpreters. DBT employ teams based in priority markets around the world and those teams often use local language skills to help UK businesses access opportunities to export their goods and services globally. Likewise, they will use local language skills to promote the UK to a global audience, and in particular to attract high value investment to the UK.
Language service needs and spend are assessed to ensure these services offer good value for money for taxpayers while maintaining high standards of service delivery.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
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 business organisations on the impact of regulatory compliance costs on (a) profitability and (b) competitiveness.
Answered by Justin Madders
Last year the Government launched a Call for Evidence on the UK's regulatory landscape to hear directly from business how regulation could be improved. In March we launched our Action Plan for Regulation, committing to cut administrative costs of regulation for business by 25%, giving them essential time back to focus on growing their businesses. The Secretary of State and I held a call with businesses and representative organisations, including Airbus, the British Retail Consortium and UK Space, to hear their feedback on the Action Plan. Officials in my department continue to engage regularly to support our regulatory reform agenda.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a one-in, two-out approach to new business regulations; and if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of that approach on (a) innovation and (b) growth.
Answered by Justin Madders
On 17 March 2025 the government published an Action Plan setting out its approach to regulation and regulators, which made a firm commitment to cut the administrative costs of regulation for business by 25% by the end of the Parliament. This commitment will require deregulation of the existing stock of regulations and control the flow of new regulations to reduce costs.
The Department for Business & Trade, in collaboration with HM Treasury and departments across government, is working to establish the mechanisms needed to achieve this commitment and report on progress. The government will make a further announcement in due course.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
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 trends in the level of regulation on small and medium-sized enterprises since 2010.
Answered by Justin Madders
Businesses have told us that regulation can be too complex, stifle progress and innovation and the accumulation of poorly designed regulation over decades is a burden to comply with. Our recently published Action Plan for Regulation will aim to reduce these burdens for SMEs, with a commitment to cut administrative costs for business by 25% by the end of this Parliament. The measures announced in the Action Plan will also support the Government's SME Strategy, which aims to provide SME's with the certainty and support they need to succeed.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if they will make it their policy to not provide (a) translation and (b) interpretation for speakers of non-UK languages for services provided by their Department.
Answered by Justin Madders
Language service needs and spend are assessed to ensure these services offer good value for money for taxpayers while maintaining high standards of service delivery.
DBT employ teams based in priority markets around the world and those teams often use local language skills to help UK businesses access opportunities to export their goods and services globally. Likewise, they will use local language skills to promote the UK to a global audience, and in particular to attract high value investment to the UK.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether their Department plans to amend its policies on access to (a) toilets, (b) changing facilities and (c) other single-sex spaces in (i) Departmental buildings and (ii) other buildings within their Department’s remit following the Supreme Court judgement in the case of For Women Scotland v The Scottish Ministers of 16 April 2025.
Answered by Justin Madders
The Supreme Court ruling made it clear that the provision of single-sex spaces is on the basis of biological sex. Providers should note and follow the ruling.
It is important that we ensure dignity and respect for all. Trans people should have access to services they need but in keeping with the ruling.
The Equality & Human Rights Commission, as Britain’s Equalities watchdog, is developing updated guidance to support service providers. Ministers will consider the EHRC’s updated draft once they have submitted it following further work in light of this ruling.
The Government is considering the implications of the Court’s judgment, including what this means for Government buildings.