Asked by: Joe Robertson (Conservative - Isle of Wight East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department takes to calculate compliance costs education-related regulations.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell
The department assesses education-related regulation compliance costs for businesses and households as per the Better Regulation Framework, which can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/better-regulation-framework.
This typically involves a proportionate assessment of the costs following the steps outlined in the framework:
These RIAs are scrutinised by the Regulatory Policy Committee (RPC) as required and published alongside legislation when laid before Parliament.
The RPC also publishes opinions of the department’s RIAs, all of which in the past ten years have been Green-rated as fit-for-purpose. These can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/rpc-opinions-for-department-for-education.
Compliance costs of regulations to public sector services such as local authorities, schools and children’s services are estimated in a similar way. This can involve consultation with impacted stakeholders, analysis of expected administration and adaptation costs, evidence from similar regulations and modelling of potential impacts as appropriate.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester Rusholme)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what fiscal steps her Department is taking to support the growth of small and micro businesses in the hospitality sector.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
Small businesses are vital to our high streets and communities. The Government is committed to supporting the hospitality sector and we recognise the significant contribution they make to the UK economy.
The Government will introduce permanently lower tax rates for high street retail, hospitality, and leisure (RHL) properties, with rateable values below £500,000, from 2026-27. In the meantime, the Government has prevented RHL relief from ending in April 2025 by extending it for one year at 40 per cent up to a cash cap of £110,000 per business and frozen the small business multiplier.
The Government has protected the smallest businesses from the impact of the increase to employer National Insurance by increasing the Employment Allowance from £5,000 to £10,500, which means that 865,000 employers will pay no employer NICs at all next year.
The Government has committed £250m in 25-26 for the British Business Bank’s small business loans programmes, including Start Up Loans and the Growth Guarantee Scheme.
To drive further progress on our manifesto commitments, as part of the growth mission, the Government will bring forward a Small Business Strategy this year.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of the Data (Use and Access) Bill on the development of artificial intelligence models.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Compliance, productivity and familiarisation costs savings of Artificial Intelligence and machine learning reforms in the Data (Use and Access) Bill have been considered and can be found in the indirect benefits and costs sections of the impact assessment (IA). The ethical assessment can also be found in the impact on individuals section. The assessment of the effect on different organisations by size and sector can be found in the small and micro business assessment section of the IA here (particularly, Table 14, 24, 25, 26 & 34).
Asked by: Kanishka Narayan (Labour - Vale of Glamorgan)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of the Data (Use and Access) Bill on the (a) development and (b) deployment of artificial intelligence models in the UK.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Compliance, productivity and familiarisation costs savings of Artificial Intelligence and machine learning reforms in the Data (Use and Access) Bill have been considered and can be found in the indirect benefits and costs sections of the impact assessment (IA). The ethical assessment can also be found in the impact on individuals section.The assessment of the effect on different organisations by size and sector can be found in the small and micro business assessment section of the IA. here (particularly, Table 14, 24, 25, 26 & 34).
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the Employment Rights Bill on regulatory requirements for small and medium-sized enterprises.
Answered by Justin Madders
On Monday 21 October, the Government published 24 Impact Assessments representing a comprehensive package of analysis on the impact of the Employment Rights Bill. These Impact Assessments are available at the following link: http://www.gov.uk/guidance/employment-rights-bill-impact-assessments. As per our Better Regulation requirements, each Impact Assessment includes a small, medium and micro business assessment, which discuss the potential impacts of the Employment Rights Bill.
Asked by: Michael Wheeler (Labour - Worsley and Eccles)
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 impact of delayed invoice payments on (a) self-employed individuals, (b) sole traders and (c) small businesses in the construction industry.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
Smart Data Foundry research shows that small businesses, including those in the construction industry were owed on average an estimated £22,000 in late payments in 2022. This represents a significant cash flow challenge for small businesses, undermining opportunities to invest and innovate.
In September 2024 we announced a package of measures to help ensure small businesses and the self-employed are paid promptly to improve the resilience of supply chains and boost economic growth across the UK.
We will soon launch a public consultation on further measures to address late payments and long payment terms, including specific measures to address the construction contractual practice of retention payments.
Source: Smart Data Foundry (2022) – Payment Speed and Timeliness for UK Small & Micro Businesses – https://smartdatafoundry.com/resources/news/payment-speed-and-timeliness-for-uk-small-and-micro-businesses
Asked by: Lord Mott (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether all new regulations are subject to impact assessments, particularly in relation to their regional impact and impact on small businesses.
Answered by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch
Where government intervention requires a legislative or policy change, departments are expected to analyse and assess the impact of the change on the different groups affected.
Impact assessments are generally required for all the Government's interventions of a regulatory nature that affect the private sector and-or civil society organisation or public services. The Better Regulation Framework requires regulatory provisions with impacts on business of greater than +/-£10 million to be accompanied by a final impact assessment which is laid before Parliament alongside the regulations. These assessments must consider impact on small and micro businesses, explore whether such businesses need to be in scope and, where appropriate, identify mitigations for the additional burden. Provisions with lower impacts should provide a proportionate assessment or estimate of the impacts in the accompanying Explanatory Notes or Memorandum.
Asked by: Stuart Anderson (Conservative - South Shropshire)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what fiscal steps she is taking to help develop tourism in rural areas.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government recognises the importance of tourism to rural constituencies, including its contribution to economic growth and pride in place of an area.
DCMS, through VisitEngland, has accredited 35 Local Visitor Economy Partnerships (LVEPs) so far; which aim to drive investment and spend across the regions - including in rural and coastal areas. In November 2024, Telford and Shropshire became an accredited LVEP and continues to provide strong local leadership and governance.
We understand a high proportion of businesses in tourism and hospitality are micro and small businesses. In the October Budget the Government announced a new, permanent 40% business rate relief for retail, hospitality, and leisure. We will also continue the UK Shared Prosperity Fund at a reduced level for a further year by providing £900million for local authorities. This transitional arrangement will allow local authorities to invest in local growth.
DCMS continues to work with VisitBritain/VisitEngland to champion visits to the British countryside to a worldwide audience. VisitBritain’s new GREAT-funded international marketing campaign, ‘Starring GREAT Britain’, uses the hook of Britain’s rich film and television history to encourage more international visitors to explore across Britain, including many rural destinations.
Asked by: David Reed (Conservative - Exmouth and Exeter East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to support (a) micro, (b) small and (c) medium-sized technology companies in the early stages of development within the defence sector.
Answered by Maria Eagle
The Ministry of Defence is committed to supporting micro, small and medium-sized technology companies. Through the Defence Industrial Strategy the department will foster a more diverse community of suppliers, including non-traditional suppliers, through reducing barriers to entry and setting the conditions that unlock the full potential of small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs).
One of the ways we are already doing this is through the Defence and Security Accelerator (DASA) with its remit to find and fund suppliers to deliver innovative projects to meet UK defence and security challenges. DASA also supports funded SMEs with additional business services to help scale up and commercialise their innovative ideas.
Asked by: Harriett Baldwin (Conservative - West Worcestershire)
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 potential impact of the Employment Rights Bill on small and medium-sized businesses.
Answered by Justin Madders
On Monday 21 October, the Government published 24 Impact Assessments representing a comprehensive package of analysis on the impact of the Employment Rights Bill. These Impact Assessments are available at the following link: http://www.gov.uk/guidance/employment-rights-bill-impact-assessments. As per our Better Regulation requirements, each Impact Assessment includes a small, medium and micro business assessment, which discuss the potential impacts of the Employment Rights Bill.