Asked by: Stuart Anderson (Conservative - South Shropshire)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 4 June 2026 to Question 5395 on Amodil Group, whether his Department plans to hold discussions with Amodil before 1 July 2026.
Answered by Chris McDonald - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
I confirm that officials at the Department for Business and Trade have contacted the company to offer them a meeting.
Asked by: Stuart Anderson (Conservative - South Shropshire)
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 adequacy of the ability of UK producers to meet domestic demand for large stainless steel rods in the context of upcoming tariffs on steel.
Answered by Chris McDonald - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government has considered the ability of UK producers to meet domestic demand for stainless steel products, including large rods and tubes, and that is being factored into the trade measure design.
The measure has been designed to strike a balance between securing the future of domestic steelmaking while maintaining secure supply chains. It will only cover steel requirements that can be met in the UK. Where not feasible for technical reasons, quotas have been designed with the aim of allowing for sufficient imports to be available to downstream users without unnecessary additional costs.
To ease impacts, we will introduce a transitional arrangement where the measure would not apply to goods agreed under contract before 14 March and imported between 1 July and 30 September 2026. Further details are available on GOV.UK.
Asked by: Stuart Anderson (Conservative - South Shropshire)
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 support the level of footfall on high streets in South Shropshire constituency.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Our Plan for Small Businesses, published in July 2025, places high streets at the centre of economic renewal, recognising them as vital centres of growth and employment.
The Plan sets out how we will help improve footfall to high streets in South Shropshire and those across the UK, by tackling high street decline; addressing retail crime and anti-social behaviour; updating our licensing regime; and promoting greater partnerships on the High Street.
The government is working with local partners and businesses to develop a new MHCLG-led High Streets Strategy that will set out how we will support communities to create vibrant high streets.
Asked by: Stuart Anderson (Conservative - South Shropshire)
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 adequacy of the ability of UK producers to meet domestic demand for stainless steel tubes in the context of upcoming tariffs on steel imports.
Answered by Chris McDonald - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government has considered the ability of UK producers to meet domestic demand for stainless steel products, including large rods and tubes, and that is being factored into the trade measure design.
The measure has been designed to strike a balance between securing the future of domestic steelmaking while maintaining secure supply chains. It will only cover steel requirements that can be met in the UK. Where not feasible for technical reasons, quotas have been designed with the aim of allowing for sufficient imports to be available to downstream users without unnecessary additional costs.
To ease impacts, we will introduce a transitional arrangement where the measure would not apply to goods agreed under contract before 14 March and imported between 1 July and 30 September 2026. Further details are available on GOV.UK.
Asked by: Stuart Anderson (Conservative - South Shropshire)
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 improve postal services in rural areas.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The government remains committed to ensuring a reliable and accessible universal postal service for users across the UK, including in rural areas.
Ofcom’s changes to Royal Mail’s USO requirements are intended to meet customer needs, improve reliability of postal services and safeguard the long-term future of the universal postal service. We now need Royal Mail to work with its workforce and unions to deliver the service that people expect, and this includes maintaining the principle of one price to send letters anywhere in the UK.
Additionally, to support the sustainability of rural Post Office service provision, the government is committed to maintaining the minimum network of 11,500 branches and existing access criteria, ensuring continued nationwide access to essential services.
Asked by: Stuart Anderson (Conservative - South Shropshire)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, further to his comments at the Second Reading of the Steel Industry (Nationalisation) Bill on Thursday 21 May 2026, whether he intends to reach out to Amodil to discuss the impact of steel tariffs on their business.
Answered by Chris McDonald - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
As the Secretary for State stated on 21 May, we can look into any specific issues Amodil raises. This Government recognises the value of downstream, including stockholders, alongside a resilient steelmaking sector.
We will be in touch with the company to take forward.
Asked by: Stuart Anderson (Conservative - South Shropshire)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what action is being taken to support the hospitality sector in South Shropshire.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government is taking decisive action to support pubs and the wider hospitality sector. Following the Budget, we announced an additional 15% cut for pubs in England alongside a two‑year real‑terms freeze, building on wider reforms to business rates for retail, hospitality and leisure properties.
We recognise that 2026 revaluation has increased bills for some businesses, which is why we are providing £4.3 billion over three years in transitional relief to support ratepayers facing higher bills at revaluation and protect businesses from sharp increases. We are also launching a review of how pubs are valued for business rates, with changes intended to take effect from the next revaluation.
Alongside this, we have expanded licencing responsibilities, doubled the Hospitality Support Fund to £10 million, and will bring forward a new High Streets Strategy later this year to help reinvigorate local communities.
Asked by: Stuart Anderson (Conservative - South Shropshire)
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 support hairdressing businesses.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The hair and beauty sector play an important role in supporting jobs, high streets and local economies. We’ve introduced permanently lower business rates for retail, hospitality and leisure properties and have provided £4.3bn to shield ratepayers from bill increases.
We continue to back employers who take on apprentices, by providing £1,000 to both employers and training providers when they take on apprentices aged 16-19; employers are not required to pay National Insurance Contributions for all apprentices aged up to age 25 (when the employee’s wage is below £50,270 a year). Additionally, the government pays the full training costs for young apprentices aged 16 to 21, and for apprentices aged 22 to 24 who have an Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan or have been in local authority care, when their employer has fewer than 50 employees.
I will continue to engage closely with the sector, including through the Personal Care Roundtables, to ensure the industry’s long-term growth. This includes working with hair and beauty businesses as we bring forward a new High Streets Strategy later this year.
Asked by: Stuart Anderson (Conservative - South Shropshire)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps he is taking to improve the sustainability of post office services in rural areas.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
As announced in the Government’s recent response to the Green Paper, we are protecting the sustainability of the Post Office network by retaining the minimum 11,500 branches and keeping all geographical Access Criteria. This will ensure that communities across the UK - including rural and remote areas - continue to have local and reliable access to Post Office services.
Furthermore, the Government continues to support the rural network by providing an annual network subsidy on the basis that Post Office meets the Government-set Access Criteria. For the 2025/26 financial year, the Government has confirmed that the network subsidy will be up to £83 million.
Asked by: Stuart Anderson (Conservative - South Shropshire)
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 people to shop locally.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
We are supporting local shopping through targeted campaigns, business rates relief and programmes that help high streets adapt and thrive; and by backing initiatives that encourage people to shop locally. Initiatives such as Small Business Saturday highlight the vital role small firms play in their communities and help drive footfall to local shops.
Later this year we will bring forward a new High Streets Strategy, to reinvigorate our communities. We will work with businesses and representative bodies to pull this Strategy together. It will be a cross-government strategy, and we will be look at what more government can do to support our high streets.