Asked by: Victoria Collins (Liberal Democrat - Harpenden and Berkhamsted)
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 impact of the UK Steel and Trade Measure coming into force on 1 July 2026 on (a) advanced metals manufacturers and (b) the viability of UK suppliers; and what (i) relief and (ii) exemption mechanisms are available to those facing significant tariff liabilities where domestic supply of the specialist steel grades they require is (A) limited and (B) unavailable.
Answered by Chris McDonald - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The measure has been designed to strike the right balance between securing the future of domestic steelmaking while maintaining secure supply chains for downstream users. The measure only covers steel requirements that can be met in the UK. In some instances, this is not feasible for technical reasons. Where this is the case, quotas have been designed to allow for sufficient imports to ensure these goods continue to be available to UK downstream users without unnecessary additional costs.
The Government has engaged extensively with manufacturers and wider industry to inform the design of the new steel trade measure, including through ongoing discussions and a Call for Evidence in 2025. We will keep the measure under review, including a review after twelve months to ensure it remains effective and fit for purpose.
To ease short term impacts, we will introduce a transitional arrangement under which the new measure would not apply to goods agreed under contract before 14 March 2026 and imported between 1 July and 30 September 2026.
The Steel Strategy aims to create a more competitive landscape for steel production in the UK, to enable companies to use more domestic content and reduce their dependency on imports.
Asked by: Victoria Collins (Liberal Democrat - Harpenden and Berkhamsted)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what recent discussions his Department has had with small and medium-sized advanced metals manufacturers regarding the UK Steel and Trade Measure coming into force on 1 July 2026; and what assessment he has made of the impact of the new tariff regime on the financial viability of those businesses.
Answered by Chris McDonald - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The measure has been designed to strike the right balance between securing the future of domestic steelmaking while maintaining secure supply chains for downstream users. The measure only covers steel requirements that can be met in the UK. In some instances, this is not feasible for technical reasons. Where this is the case, quotas have been designed to allow for sufficient imports to ensure these goods continue to be available to UK downstream users without unnecessary additional costs.
The Government has engaged extensively with manufacturers and wider industry to inform the design of the new steel trade measure, including through ongoing discussions and a Call for Evidence in 2025. We will keep the measure under review, including a review after twelve months to ensure it remains effective and fit for purpose.
To ease short term impacts, we will introduce a transitional arrangement under which the new measure would not apply to goods agreed under contract before 14 March 2026 and imported between 1 July and 30 September 2026.
The Steel Strategy aims to create a more competitive landscape for steel production in the UK, to enable companies to use more domestic content and reduce their dependency on imports.
Asked by: Victoria Collins (Liberal Democrat - Harpenden and Berkhamsted)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps his Department is taking to mitigate the financial impact of the UK Steel and Trade Measure on (a) advanced and (b) high-grade metals manufacturers facing significant tariff liabilities.
Answered by Chris McDonald - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The measure has been designed to strike the right balance between securing the future of domestic steelmaking while maintaining secure supply chains for downstream users. The measure only covers steel requirements that can be met in the UK. In some instances, this is not feasible for technical reasons. Where this is the case, quotas have been designed to allow for sufficient imports to ensure these goods continue to be available to UK downstream users without unnecessary additional costs.
The Government has engaged extensively with manufacturers and wider industry to inform the design of the new steel trade measure, including through ongoing discussions and a Call for Evidence in 2025. We will keep the measure under review, including a review after twelve months to ensure it remains effective and fit for purpose.
To ease short term impacts, we will introduce a transitional arrangement under which the new measure would not apply to goods agreed under contract before 14 March 2026 and imported between 1 July and 30 September 2026.
The Steel Strategy aims to create a more competitive landscape for steel production in the UK, to enable companies to use more domestic content and reduce their dependency on imports.
Asked by: Victoria Collins (Liberal Democrat - Harpenden and Berkhamsted)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps his Department is taking to support garden centre businesses in Harpenden and Berkhamsted constituency.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
From April 2026, we are introducing permanently lower business rates multipliers for retail, hospitality and leisure properties, worth nearly £900 million a year and benefiting over 750,000 premises. In recognition of the impact of the revaluation on bills, the government has introduced £4.3 billion transitional support package, to protect ratepayers from large overnight increases.
The government and Ofgem are taking decisive action to inform and protect non-domestic energy consumers as well as improving access to redress when issues occur. Later this year, we will bring forward a new High Streets Strategy, to help reinvigorate our communities. These measures will provide meaningful, long-term support to garden centres, including those in Harpenden and Berkhamsted.
Asked by: Victoria Collins (Liberal Democrat - Harpenden and Berkhamsted)
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 the potential impact of garden centres on local employment and skills training; and what steps he is taking to support that sector.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Department has not made a specific assessment of the potential impact of garden centres on local employment and skills training. However, garden centres operate across retail and horticulture and can benefit from the government’s wider support for workforce development.
This government will not leave an entire generation of young people behind. That is why in March we announced almost £1bn in funding taking total investment to £2.5bn to further expand the Youth Guarantee over the next 3 years. This will fund an expansion of the Jobs Guarantee scheme to include 22–24-year-olds, hiring incentives for employers recruiting young people on Universal Credit at risk of long-term unemployment, and incentives for SMEs recruiting apprentices. This will unlock nearly 200,000 opportunities for young people to start work or an apprenticeship. To support smaller businesses, we are introducing a new £2,000 incentive when non-levy payers take on 16–24-year-old apprentices as new employees.
Asked by: Victoria Collins (Liberal Democrat - Harpenden and Berkhamsted)
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 the potential impact of supermarkets selling low-cost cut flowers and plants on the viability of independent garden centre businesses.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The government acknowledges the important contribution of independent garden centres, which frequently differentiate themselves through expert advice, product quality, and a wider range of horticultural services.
The government recognises that competition between different retail formats can present both opportunities and challenges for businesses. Pricing and product range decisions are commercial matters for individual retailers, operating within a competitive market. We support a competitive retail environment that benefits consumers while ensuring markets operate fairly, and the Competition and Markets Authority is responsible for addressing any concerns about anti‑competitive behaviour.
Asked by: Victoria Collins (Liberal Democrat - Harpenden and Berkhamsted)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many UK technology company acquired by foreign buyers were of (a) pre-revenue startups and (b) companies with revenues (i) under £10 million, (ii) between £10-50 million and (iii) £50 million in the last three years; and what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of UK scale-ups being acquired before reaching their full growth potential.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The statistics requested are not readily available. The Department for Business and Trade is supporting the next generation of start-ups and scale-ups, aiming to create the UK’s first trillion-dollar technology business by 2035. The Industrial Strategy and Digital & Technology Subsector plan set out how we will achieve this. They set out a whole-of-government approach to the sector, reforming the business environment for digital and technology companies and addressing their needs for greater investment, skills, infrastructure, regulation and access to international markets.
Asked by: Victoria Collins (Liberal Democrat - Harpenden and Berkhamsted)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many UK technology startups and scale-ups were acquired by foreign companies in each of the last three years; and what the total value of those acquisitions was in each of the last three years.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The statistics requested are not readily available. The Department for Business and Trade is supporting the next generation of start-ups and scale-ups, aiming to create the UK’s first trillion-dollar technology business by 2035. The Industrial Strategy and Digital & Technology Subsector plan set out how we will achieve this. They set out a whole-of-government approach to the sector, reforming the business environment for digital and technology companies and addressing their needs for greater investment, skills, infrastructure, regulation and access to international markets.
Asked by: Victoria Collins (Liberal Democrat - Harpenden and Berkhamsted)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what the mandate is for the British Business Bank's direct investment programme in scale-up companies.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The British Business Bank’s mandate for making direct equity investments in scale-up companies is set out in the Statement of Strategic Priorities issued to the Bank by the Secretary of State and the Chancellor. This was published on 21 October 2025.
At the 2025 Spending Review, the BBB was entrusted with an additional £4 billion of capital with the goal of accelerating investment into the Industrial Strategy priority sectors.
The strategic mandate requires the Bank to “help anchor strategically significant companies in the UK, including through use of the bank’s direct investment capabilities to target priority sectors and technologies.”
Asked by: Victoria Collins (Liberal Democrat - Harpenden and Berkhamsted)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps his Department is taking to develop standards to help with procurement and encourage AI adoption amongst SMEs.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
In July, the SME Digital Adoption Taskforce published ten recommendations to help the UK’s SMEs become the most digitally capable and AI confident in the G7 by 2035. We are now working to deliver these recommendations.
We have already partnered with Google on a series of events to help SME leaders around the UK explore how AI can help them.
DSIT has published AI Management Essentials to help SMEs implement responsible AI governance practices.
Also, we are prioritising SMEs in our new system to give them a fair chance at public contracts, with departmental targets and a new SME Procurement Education programme.