Asked by: Maria Eagle (Labour - Garston and Halewood)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps she is taking to provide information to domestic defence firms on the services provided by her Department's regional international trade advisers.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Department for Business and Trade’s ‘Made in the UK, Sold to the World’ export promotion campaign showcases the support available to businesses, including our International Trade Adviser service. In addition, support is provided through the Export Support Service (ESS), a first point of contact service for any businesses seeking to trade internationally. Through the ESS, businesses can access support from DBT’s overseas network, UK Export Finance, UK Export Academy and our international events programme. Businesses can access digital support via great.gov.uk. We work with partners across all sectors, including Defence, to raise awareness of the support available.
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: Jonathan Ashworth (Labour (Co-op) - Leicester South)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps her Department and its predecessor Department have taken to reduce the costs of error in the last three financial years.
Answered by Andrew Griffith - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) was established on 7th February 2023. Prior to this date the portfolio for DSIT sat within the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS). The published BEIS Annual Report & Accounts provide a summary of counter fraud activity and respective costs related to fraud. The Cross-Government Fraud Landscape Annual Report 2022 highlights the latest available data relating to fraud and error across government.
The Government is proud of its record in proactively seeking to find and prevent more fraud in the system. We have established the dedicated Public Sector Fraud Authority (PSFA). In its first year it delivered £311 million in audited counter fraud benefits.
Due to the Machinery of Government changes, the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology have not yet produced fraud and error estimates, but this will be published in the 23/24 annual report and accounts.
Asked by: Maria Eagle (Labour - Garston and Halewood)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, on how many occasions officials in her Department attended (a) domestic and (b) overseas trade shows which were supported by UK Defence and Security Exports in each year since 2019.
Answered by Alan Mak - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade) (jointly with the Cabinet Office)
This information is not recorded with respect to the whole Department for Business and Trade.
Asked by: Jonathan Ashworth (Labour (Co-op) - Leicester South)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps her Department and its predecessor Department have taken to reduce the costs of fraud in the Department in the last three financial years.
Answered by Andrew Griffith - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) was established on 7th February 2023. Prior to this date the portfolio for DSIT sat within the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS). The published BEIS Annual Report & Accounts provide a summary of counter fraud activity and respective costs related to fraud. The Cross-Government Fraud Landscape Annual Report 2022 highlights the latest available data relating to fraud and error across government.
Presently, as for all Government Departments, DSIT counter fraud activity is governed by Government Functional Standards for Counter Fraud, covering both proactive and reactive counter fraud activity, and set out by the Government Counter Fraud Function (GCFF). Adherence to standards is monitored and reviewed by the Public Sector Fraud Authority (PSFA).
In 2022/23 the PSFA set a target of delivering £180 million of savings to the taxpayer. In fact, the PSFA far surpassed this within the first 12 months by preventing and recovering £311 million. As it enters its second year, the PSFA has a target of achieving £185 million of savings for the taxpayer.
The Government has also announced an additional £34 million to deploy cutting edge tools and Artificial Intelligence tools to help combat fraud across the public sector, saving £100 million for the public purse. This is in addition to existing partnerships between PSFA and the tech sector.
The Government is determined to uncover fraud in the public sector and is proud of its record.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, which Department is responsible for foreign direct investment into research and development in the UK.
Answered by Andrew Griffith - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) is responsible for the promotion and facilitation for foreign direct investment (FDI). DSIT works closely with DBT to promote global collaboration and investment opportunities in R&D.
FDI is a key source of R&D funding, accounting for 14% of UK R&D investment. Our collaborative approach resulted in the successful 2023 Global Investment Summit, securing over £29 billion, including investments in AI, life sciences and quantum.
Asked by: Thérèse Coffey (Conservative - Suffolk Coastal)
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 increase business investment in Suffolk.
Answered by Alan Mak - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade) (jointly with the Cabinet Office)
The Department for Business and Trade works with local stakeholders to promote investment opportunities in the region to potential overseas investors and provide support for foreign investors wishing to set up in the area. The Government works closely with clients to understand their requirements and to reduce any barriers which may inform the client’s decision to locate in the region.
The Government is also backing the Freeport East to create new jobs and attract new businesses in high growth sectors such as advanced manufacturing and engineering.
The Government supports a range of programmes dedicated to supporting small and medium businesses to grow. This includes free access to the Business Support Helpline, Help to Grow, Growth Hubs, UK Export Academy, International Trade Advisors, and the Export Digital Enquiry Service. Government funded support is also available through the British Business Bank.
Asked by: Seema Malhotra (Labour (Co-op) - Feltham and Heston)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether her Department (a) collects and (b) produces labour market information.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Department for Business and Trade is responsible for employment rights.
In order to support this, the department collects and produces labour market information through published impact assessments, and statistics on trade union membership in the UK. This is undertaken to better inform policy decisions. They can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-business-and-trade/about/statistics.
Asked by: Stephanie Peacock (Labour - Barnsley East)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what proportion of her Department’s (a) advertising and (b) marketing expenditure was on (i) local newspapers in print and online, (ii) national newspapers in print and online, (iii) social media, (iv) search engines, (v) broadcast and on-demand television and (vi) other channels in the most recent year for which data is available.
Answered by Alan Mak - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade) (jointly with the Cabinet Office)
The Department buys marketing media, including advertising, through its retained media buying agency.
2022/23 is the most recent year for which the data is available.
The proportion of this marketing media expenditure by major marketing channel was as follows:
Asked by: Chris Bryant (Labour - Rhondda)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps she plans to take to help ensure (a) energy companies and (b) network operators can contact consumers on the Energy Priority Services Register during a power cut once the digital switchover is complete.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
DSIT is engaging with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) to ensure robust measures are in place to mitigate any risks arising from the Public Switched Telephone (PSTN) switchover in the energy sector. The details regarding contingency plans and consumer prioritisation in the energy sector falls within DESNZ’s remit.
DSIT works closely on a range of resilience issues in partnership with industry, through the Electronic Communications Resilience & Response Group (EC-RRG), who engage in regular dialogue with the Energy Networks Association across a range of issues to help strengthen resilience between the telecoms and energy sectors.
The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) also recently consulted on proposals to establish a multi-sector Priority Services Register to enable better data sharing between providers of gas, water, electricity, and telecoms providers, and allow consumers to be registered as vulnerable across sectors. The consultation closed in January 2024, with a response expected in due course.