Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions she has had with the Northern Ireland Executive on linking America250 initiatives to transatlantic tourism promotion focused on Ulster migration and maritime heritage in the North West of Northern Ireland.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
DCMS recognises the significant cultural and historical ties between Northern Ireland and the United States as we approach the America250 in 2026.
While tourism is a devolved matter for the Northern Ireland Executive, DCMS maintains a regular dialogue with Ministerial counterparts through the Interministerial Group for Tourism. This forum will provide a valuable opportunity to discuss how America250 can be leveraged to drive economic growth and tourism across all parts of the United Kingdom.
VisitBritain is the national tourist board for Britain, it has a statutory duty to promote England, Scotland, and Wales as a destination to international visitors. As set out in the Good Friday Agreement, tourism is an area of North-South co-operation, as such the promotion of destinations across the Island of Ireland, including Northern Ireland, falls under the remit of Tourism Ireland. VisitBritain has a strong relationship with both the travel trade and tourist board in Northern Ireland, and regularly work together on joint funded projects and activity such as trade missions.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that the history of Britain's involvement in the transatlantic slave trade and colonialism is accurately and thoroughly taught in schools.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The history curriculum includes a statutory time period at key stage 3 titled “ideas, political power, industry and empire: Britain, 1745-1901” which includes the non-statutory example of Britain’s transatlantic slave trade. Due to the flexibility of the history curriculum, these topics can also be taught, where relevant, across the three key stages.
Schools can access resources from bodies such as Oak National Academy, the Historical Association and others to ensure their teaching is accurate and thorough.
In reforming the curriculum following the Curriculum and Assessment Review, we are clear that all pupils should have a robust understanding of our nation’s history.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department had held discussions with museums and other cultural institutions on the potential merits of engaging with communities on colonial-era acquisitions and the transatlantic slave trade.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Museums in the UK are independent from the government and so decisions on engaging with communities are operational matters for them and their trustees to decide.
The Department is in regular contact with our 15 sponsored museums, and as part of this has from time to time had discussions on these issues. The Horniman Museum informed us that it had consulted local communities regarding the Benin Bronzes in its collection, before reaching a decision to transfer legal title to the objects to the Nigerian National Commission for Museums and Monuments.
The Department is working closely with National Museums Liverpool on the development and refurbishment of the International Slavery Museum (ISM), which is being co-produced working closely with Liverpool’s communities, and will include a space for a new National Centre for Teaching Black History.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of holding discussions with financial institutions on reparatory (a) funds and (b) initiatives relating to the transatlantic slave trade.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 10 March 2025 to Question 32987.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the UK’s Modern Industrial Strategy, CP 1337, published on 23 June 2025, what progress she has made on making the UK the world’s most innovative full-service financial centre.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government published the Financial Services Growth and Competitiveness Strategy on 15 July, which sets out the Government’s ten-year plan to make the UK the global location of choice for financial services firms to invest, grow and sell their services throughout the UK and to the world. As part of this, the Government announced the most wide-ranging package of reforms to financial services regulation in over a decade.
Following publication, HM Treasury has been working with partners to deliver the reforms at pace. The Department for Business and Trade has published its first quarterly update on delivery of the Industrial Strategy. In relation to financial services, it confirms that the Office for Investment: Financial Services announced in the Strategy has now been launched to guide and support international investors looking to establish or grow a presence in the UK’s financial services sector. In September, the Chancellor and US Secretary to the Treasury established the Transatlantic Taskforce for Markets of the Future, to drive innovation and growth in global markets including capital markets digital assets and other innovative financial activities.
Working with industry and the regulators, the government will continue to prioritise delivery of the wide-ranging reform programme set out in the Financial Services Growth and Competitiveness Strategy.
Asked by: Lord Jopling (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch on 16 April (HL6564), whether they plan to insist on a loosening of impediments to access of the UK financial services sector to the United States financial services sector in seeking a new trade agreement with the United States.
Answered by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch
On 8 May the UK government announced a landmark economic deal with the US, making the UK the first country to reach an agreement with President Trump. We are continuing talks which will look at increasing digital trade, access for our world-leading services industries and improving supply chains.
The US and the UK are each other's largest single country trading partners for financial services. Following discussions between the Chancellor and US Treasury Secretary Bessent, we agreed to use the upcoming Financial Regulatory Working Group (FRWG) to discuss collaboration on digital assets, including to support the use and responsible growth of digital assets, and the proposals put forward by the Commissioner on the Security and Exchange Commission for a transatlantic sandbox for digital securities.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of a 10% tariff on UK exports to the US on her Department's fiscal headroom.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
On 8 May 2025, the government concluded a landmark economic deal with the United States. The Economic Prosperity Deal will reduce tariffs for UK exporters in critical sectors, will protect thousands of jobs in key British industries, and help drive economic growth. This is just the beginning of the process – with the US agreeing to deepen transatlantic trade and investment further.
The Chancellor has always been clear that the fiscal rules are non-negotiable and the OBR confirmed in their March forecast that the government is on track to meet them.
Asked by: Mark Pritchard (Conservative - The Wrekin)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if he will ask the Competition and Markets Authority to investigate the Joint Business Agreement between British Airways, Iberia, Finnair, American Airlines and Aer Lingus on the pricing model for transatlantic flights.
Answered by Justin Madders
As the UK’s independent competition authority, the Competition and Markets Authority (“CMA”) has discretion to investigate competition cases which, according to its prioritisation principles, it considers most appropriate. The Government has ensured that the CMA has significant powers to investigate and act if it finds that businesses are behaving anti-competitively in a market.
Asked by: Baroness Curran (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to mark the International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade on 25 March.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
The slave trade was abhorrent. We recognise its horrific impacts, and the ongoing strength of feeling. The UK marked the International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade on 25 March with other United Nations member states in the General Assembly in the usual manner.
Asked by: Baroness Curran (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have met recently with representatives of Caribbean governments; and whether the legacy of slavery and its impact on the Caribbean was discussed.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
We fully recognise the horrific impacts and the understandable strength of feeling on the transatlantic slave trade across communities in the UK and the Commonwealth family. Ministers have had no discussions with Caribbean counterparts focused on the legacy of slavery since July 2024, and none are planned. If interlocutors raise reparatory justice, we make clear our position that we do not pay reparations. We are focused on working with Caribbean partners to tackle the most pressing challenges of today including security, growth, climate change and building partnerships for the future.