Asked by: Adam Jogee (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps the Department has taken to assess the potential impact of Economic Partnership Agreements on (a) a country’s (i) economic development and (ii) ability to export and (b) the ability of African partner countries to implement (A) the African Continental Free Trade Area and (B) other regional integration plans.
Answered by Douglas Alexander - Secretary of State for Scotland
Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) support inclusive, sustained economic growth and promote regional integration by providing duty-free access for partner exports to the UK and generous cumulation provisions aligned with AfCFTA objectives. Without this access, current trade faces significant risks.
The Department engages closely with partner governments and businesses to gather feedback on tariff arrangements. The Government publishes two key sources of UK trade data with developing countries: statistics on UK utilisation of tariff preferences under trade agreements, and country factsheets outlining broader trade relationships. These data sources, alongside feedback, have shaped EPA priorities, as articulated in the UK's Trade Strategy.
Asked by: Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, in regard to page 268 of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office annual report and accounts 2024 to 2025, published on 22 July, what assessment they have made of the impact that the proposed £13,628,000 reduction in support to Nepal between 2024–25 and 2025–26 will have on the bilateral relationship between Nepal and the UK.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
Development is an essential part of the UK's global objectives and to the delivery of the Government's missions: working with partners to strengthen and stabilise countries, to tackle poverty and support growth, and to make the world safer. The UK continues to work closely with the Government of Nepal and other partners to ensure UK Official Development Assistance aligns with Nepal's national development priorities. Therefore, we have prioritised the following for our 2025-26 allocation: Nepal's inclusive economic transformation and the creation of jobs; building resilience to disasters and climate change, infrastructure development, and the strengthening of social services. We are aware that budget reductions will have an impact on Nepal and British Embassy Kathmandu is in continuing discussions with the Government of Nepal about these issues.
Asked by: Adam Thompson (Labour - Erewash)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what her Department's policy is on investment in skills in the grassroots performing arts.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
This government is making a substantial investment in skills across the economy, with over £1 billion of additional funding by 2028-29, on top of the phase 1 settlement for 2025-26. This protects opportunity, delivers the workforce needed for the Plan for Change, and fuels future growth.
The Creative Industries Sector Plan sets out how we will develop high quality, responsive, inclusive and targeted education, skills and training for the Creative Industries, which will benefit grassroots performing arts. This includes delivering a refreshed UK-wide £9 million creative careers service to raise awareness of creative careers and ensuring that we continue to consider the needs of smaller employers when developing our growth and skills offer. The Plan recognises the UK’s significant strengths in educational infrastructure for performing arts, including our world-leading institutions, and commits to working with DfE, Skills England and industry to support increased access to quality specialist creative education provision across England.
On the 2nd June, the government also announced that £132.5 million of dormant assets funding will be allocated to increase disadvantaged young people’s access to enrichment opportunities in the arts, culture, sports and wider youth services, aimed at improving wellbeing and employability.
The Department for Education will launch the National Centre for Arts and Music Education in September 2026 to expand arts access for young people, enhance teacher training, and strengthen school-arts partnerships. In addition, in 2024/25, Arts Council England awarded £14.2 million to 1,220 creative practitioners through its Developing Your Creative Practice programme, and a further £28 million to 1,119 practitioners via National Lottery Project Grants.
Asked by: Lord Dodds of Duncairn (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the hospitality sector’s contribution to social productivity and inclusive economic growth across the UK.
Answered by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch
We recognise the vital role hospitality businesses play in driving economic growth and strengthening community cohesion across the country.
We plan to introduce permanently lower business rates for retail, hospitality, and leisure properties with a rateable value under £500,000, We have reduced alcohol duty on qualifying draught beer products, saving the sector over £85 million annually. We’ve introduced a Hospitality Support Scheme to co-fund projects aligned with Department for Business & Trade and Sector Council priorities, such as supporting initiatives like Pub is The Hub to encourage local investment. We have also launched a licensing taskforce to cut red tape and remove barriers to business growth.
DBT ministers are pleased to be working with the Hospitality Sector Council on strategic issues facing the sectors. The next Council meeting in July will be addressing the topic of the sector’s social and economic contribution.
Asked by: Tom Hayes (Labour - Bournemouth East)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what estimate he has made of the potential impact of the play industry on the economy.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government recognises that play is vital for children's physical, emotional, social, and cognitive development, while also strengthening community bonds and promoting inclusive, healthy environments. The Department for Business and Trade has not published a specific estimate of the economic impact of the play industry.
However, the Department continues to engage with retailers and manufacturers of sporting goods, to understand the sector’s potential and to support growth and export opportunities.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Reform UK - Romford)
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 encourage the inclusion of small and medium-sized enterprises in procurement processes related to the development and supply of sustainable aviation fuel.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
My Department supports SME participation in innovative sectors such as sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) through the Business Growth Service. This makes it easier for businesses to get advice and support they need and later this year, we will publish a SME Strategy Paper to promote inclusive supply chains and easier access to finance.
The SAF Mandate sets targets for SAF uptake and creates new market opportunities. To support SAF production, the Department for Transport has launched the Advanced Fuels Fund (AFF). The AFF funding is allocated through a competitive process and is available to a range of entities, including SMEs and start-ups.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps his Department is taking to help increase the number of jobs in the renewable energy sector.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Meeting the UK’s Clean Energy Superpower Mission and delivering Clean Power by 2030 are vital to enhancing our economic and energy security whilst driving economic growth across the country. This transition will create tens of thousands of opportunities across the sector, from renewables to upgrading the UK’s grid infrastructure.
The Government is backing this ambition with major investment. Over the next three years, over £100 million will boost engineering skills in England. Working with Skills England, this investment will grow the talent pipeline through education, apprenticeships, and new Technical Excellence Colleges. Supported by the Skills Mission Fund, these colleges will tackle engineering shortages critical to the clean energy sector. DESNZ estimates that the offshore and onshore wind sectors could support up to 145,000 direct and indirect job across Great Britain by the end of the decade.
In 2025, DESNZ will publish a full Clean Energy Workforce Strategy, setting out further actions to ensure that the workforce needed for clean energy delivery is in place, and that the jobs created across the country are high-quality, inclusive, and long-term.
Asked by: Zöe Franklin (Liberal Democrat - Guildford)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to Contemporary Visual Arts Network England’s report entitled, Framing the Future: The Political Case for Strengthening the Visual Arts Ecosystem, published on 7 May 2025, what assessment she has made of the contribution of the visual arts to (a) economic growth, (b) education and skills, (c) health and wellbeing in setting the budget for visual arts funding.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The visual arts sector provides a tremendous boost to our economy, and helps solidify the UK’s reputation as a world leader in the arts. While DCMS economic estimates do not estimate the growth of the visual arts separately from the wider arts sub-sector, DCMS estimates that the arts sector contributed £9 billion in GVA to the UK economy in 2023. The sector grew by 2.4% between 2022 and 2023 (compared to 0.3% in the UK economy as a whole).
Across the spending review (SR) period, DCMS will be delivering funding across its major capital programmes, supporting local institutions and leveraging economic growth across the regions. Millions of pounds will go to our Arms-Length Bodies over the SR period including Arts Council England who will continue to support visual arts programmes and projects across the country. The visual arts sector will also benefit from cross-cutting measures in the Sector Plan and Industrial Strategy, where it is recognised as a high growth potential subsector alongside music and performing arts.
Creative subjects - including visual arts - are important elements of the rounded and enriching education every child deserves. That is why DCMS is supporting the Department for Education’s independent Curriculum and Assessment Review. The Review seeks to deliver a rich, broad, inclusive and innovative curriculum that readies young people for life and work. This includes creative subjects such as art. DfE has published an interim report, and the government will respond to the final recommendations in the autumn. In February, we also announced that we will be providing £3.2 million in funding for four cultural education programmes for the 2025/26 financial year to preserve increased access to arts for children and young people.
We are also unlocking £132.5 million from Dormant Assets to support youth access to music, arts, sport and safe spaces, including youth centres and libraries. This will take money that would have gone unused and ensure it is invested in our young people.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Reform UK - Romford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 15 May 2025 to Question 50064 on China: Caribbean, whether he plans to provide guidance to the Inter-American Development Bank on the financing of infrastructure in Caribbean nations as an alternative to Chinese state-backed loans.
Answered by Catherine West
The UK is a shareholder of and supports the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the World Bank (WB) and the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) in their work in the Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) regions, providing financial support for sustainable development and growth, including sustainable, resilient and inclusive infrastructure, to bolster climate resilience, advance citizen security and create economic opportunities to improve lives across the region.
The UK is a leading development partner within the IDB Group, exemplified by its flagship UK Sustainable Infrastructure Programme (UKSIP), a partnership between IDB and the UK. UKSIP supports countries in LAC to reduce emissions, adapt to climate change, ensure infrastructure and communities are resilient to its effects, and invest in cost effective nature-based solutions through technical assistance and blended finance investments.
IDB has robust and well-established policies and procedures in place. As one of the Bank's shareholders, we engage closely with the bank to help shape their strategies, policies and procedures.
Asked by: Victoria Collins (Liberal Democrat - Harpenden and Berkhamsted)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of providing financial incentives to employers to support the employment of people with severe mental illnesses.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
There is a strong evidence base showing that work is generally good for physical and mental health and well-being. The right type of joined-up work and health support can prevent people falling out of work and support people to return, ensuring they gain the physical and mental benefits of employment. Therefore, we actively engage in collaborative action with a range of stakeholders, including employers, welfare systems and health services, to open opportunities for individuals to engage in good work, fostering a healthier, more inclusive nation.
We announced our Get Britain Working White Paper in November. Alongside funding for trailblazers and NHS ‘Health and Growth Accelerator’ in local areas to bring together and streamline work, health, and skills support for disabled people and people with long term health conditions, the Secretaries of State for Work and Pensions and Business and Trade asked Sir Charlie Mayfield to lead an independent review, considering how best to support and enable employers to recruit and retain more people with health conditions and disabilities, promote healthy workplaces, and support more people to stay in or return to work from periods of sickness absence. Sir Charlie will deliver his final report in the autumn. Employers are crucial in enhancing employment opportunities and supporting disabled people and those with health conditions to thrive in the workforce.
The Department has also developed a digital information service for employers which provides tailored guidance to businesses to support employees to remain in work. This includes guidance on health disclosures and having conversations about health, and continues to oversee the Disability Confident Scheme which provides practical support to encourage employers to recruit, retain and develop disabled people and people with health conditions. This fosters inclusive workplaces, benefitting people’s health and wealth, as well as the UK economy through increased productivity and reduced economic inactivity.