Asked by: Tahir Ali (Labour - Birmingham, Hall Green)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps her Department is making to promote (a) international trade and (b) investment opportunities for businesses based in Birmingham.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Department for Business and Trade’s export promotion campaign ‘Made in the UK, Sold to the World’ is tailored regionally, and in March 2024 Lord Offord, Minister for Exports held the ‘Made in the Midlands’ Roadshow in the region
The International Trade Advisory Service has staff in Birmingham supporting businesses to export. The Export Academy provides online educational support and the Export Digital Enquiry Service answers specific international trade queries
The Government has provided £160M for the creation of a West Midlands Investment Zone. The West Midlands Combined Authority estimate that this may bring up to £5.5B investment and 30,000 new jobs by 2034.
Asked by: Tahir Ali (Labour - Birmingham, Hall Green)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps her Department is taking to support small and medium-sized enterprises in Birmingham.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Business Growth West Midlands is a regional business support function and is funded by both the UK Shared Prosperity Fund and by the Department for Business and Trade (DBT). DBT supports small and medium enterprises with national programmes such as the Growth Hub network and through schemes such as Help to Grow. The new Help to Grow Campaign includes a dedicated website, acting as a resourcing hub for business support and advice, as well as SME leadership training schemes, Help to Grow Management and Help to Grow: Management Essentials.
UK businesses, including those in Birmingham, can access DBT’s wealth of export support via Great.gov.uk. This comprises a digital self-serve offer and our wider network of support, including trade advisers, Export Champions, the Export Academy, our International Markets network and UK Export Finance.
Asked by: Tahir Ali (Labour - Birmingham, Hall Green)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps her Department is taking to promote businesses owned by women.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government promotes women-led businesses through partnerships with the private sector. With the Council for Investing in Female Entrepreneurs we have created the Invest in Women Hub (iiwhub.com) which provides information and free access to expert mentors.
We are working with the Invest in Women Taskforce towards their goal of making the UK the best place in the world to be a female entrepreneur, including by raising private sector capital to invest in women-led businesses.
The Women’s International Networking Programme aims to increase the participation of women-led businesses in international trade through access to networks, role models and DBT intelligence.
Asked by: Tahir Ali (Labour - Birmingham, Hall Green)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps her Department is taking to help ensure that workers are not dismissed for their legal political opinions.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The UK has a longstanding tradition of ensuring individuals’ rights and liberties are protected. The right to freedom of expression is protected by Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which is given further effect domestically by the Human Rights Act 1998.
Employees who are dismissed and consider that their dismissal was unfair can complain to an employment tribunal, generally subject to a qualifying period of 2-years' continuous service.
Asked by: Tahir Ali (Labour - Birmingham, Hall Green)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps she plans to take to respond to the findings of the Competition and Markets Authority that manufacturers of branded food products have been increasing prices above inflation.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government notes the CMA's findings and supports its continued work on groceries pricing. Tackling the cost of living is a priority issue for this Government and the cost of grocery products is a key component of household expenditure. Through regular engagement, the Government will continue to work with food retailers and producers to explore the range of measures they can take to ensure the availability of affordable food.
Asked by: Tahir Ali (Labour - Birmingham, Hall Green)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if she will take steps to align the UK with EU (a) standards and (b) regulations.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The UK government has recently announced plans to continue recognising the EU’s CE marking indefinitely for 18 manufactured goods product regulations managed by the Department for Business and Trade. This announcement followed extensive engagement with industry. We are working closely with businesses and other stakeholders to ensure our approach to regulation supports the UK economy, industry and consumers.