Written questions by Griffith.

If he will outline the process for appointments to the Industrial Strategy Council.

Appointments to the Industrial Strategy Advisory Council were made through direct ministerial appointment by the Secretary of State for Business and Trade and the Chancellor of the Exchequer. The Council’s membership includes senior business leaders, policy experts and trade union representatives. Members have been appointed in a personal capacity and the Council will help to ensure our Industrial Strategy is informed by a broad and high-quality evidence base, and a diverse range of perspectives.

How many applications his Department received for the appointment to the Industrial Strategy Council; and how many and what proportion of those applications reached each stage of consideration for appointments.

Appointments to the Industrial Strategy Advisory Council were made through direct ministerial appointment by the Secretary of State for Business and Trade and the Chancellor of the Exchequer. The Council’s membership includes senior business leaders, policy experts and trade union representatives. Members have been appointed in a personal capacity and the Council will help to ensure our Industrial Strategy is informed by a broad and high-quality evidence base, and a diverse range of perspectives.

When he plans to respond to Questions 18414, 18415 and 18416 tabled by the hon. Member for Arundel and South Downs on 6 December 2024.

Questions 18414, 18415 and 18416 were answered on 19 December 2024.

How many away days or off-site team building exercises his Department has arranged for officials in each month of this year; and what the cost of these was.

The Department for Business and Trade does not routinely collect this information. It could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

How many (a) settlement agreements and (b) special severance payments with (i) current and (ii) former employees his Department has made in each of the last 12 months.

The Department for Business and Trade made no settlement agreements or special severance payments in the last 12 months for either current or former employees.

How many (a) commercial and (b) non-commercial flights he has taken since 5 July 2024.

We can confirm that since 5 July 2024, the Secretary of State for Business and Trade has taken: 28 commercial flights1 non-commercial flight

What steps his Department is taking to prepare for the potential imposition of trade tariffs by the US.

The Government has not speculated on what President-elect Trump may or may not do when he is in office. The Government will continue to make a strong case for open, transparent, and free trade. We are an open trading economy, and we benefit from that in our trading relationships other countries, including the US.

Whether the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Employment Rights, Competition and Markets attended any of the meetings held by his Department with Stellantis.

I refer the member for Arundel and South Downs to the answer I provided to UIN 17527 on 6 December.

Whether he has had discussions with (a) the ONS (b) the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the Public Services Productivity Review.

The Secretary of State for Business and Trade has confirmed that no formal discussions have taken place with (a) the Office for National Statistics (ONS) or (b) the Chancellor of the Exchequer regarding the Public Services Productivity Review.

What steps his Department takes to monitor the productivity of officials when they work from home.

It is expected that every Department for Business and Trade employee has personal objectives aligned to their role. Performance is monitored regularly against these objectives, as part of ongoing reviews.

How many of his counterparts from G20 nations (a) he and (b) Ministers in his Department have met.

(a) Since July, the Secretary of State for Business and Trade has met with counterparts from 16 G20 nations .(b) The DBT ministerial team have met a total of 18 G20 nations.

Whether he has met with his counterparts from (a) Canada and (b) Mexico on the UK's accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership.

Ministers regularly meet with their counterparts to discuss a wide range of key issues. The Secretary of State met with Canada’s Minister of Export Promotion, International Trade and Economic Development, Mary Ng at the G7 and the G20. I met with Minister Ng at the ASEAN Summit in September and at the CPTPP Commission meeting in November 2024, where I also had the opportunity to meet the Mexican Under Secretary of Economy, Luis Rosendo Gutierrez Romano. We will continue to work with our Canadian and Mexican counterparts to push for ratification of our accession so that businesses can begin to reap the rewards of this trade agreement.

What meetings he has had with representatives from British Steel since 11 November 2024.

We’re working across government in partnership with trade unions and businesses to secure a bright future for steel in the UK, including working with British Steel on their future plans. My Rt Hon Friend the Secretary of State has met with British Steel’s shareholder on 5 occasions in the last 5 months. The most recent meeting was on 29 October. Senior officials from this Department meet representatives from British Steel on a weekly basis.

How many foreign trips (a) he and (b) Ministers in his Department have made since 5 July 2024; and where these trips were to.

(a) Since 5 July 2024, the Secretary of State for Business and Trade has carried out four international visits. These were: Italy to attend the G7 Trade Ministers MeetingKingdom of Saudi Arabia to help progress GCC negotiationsBrazil to attend the G20 Trade and Investment Ministerial MeetingQatar to attend the GCC Trade Ministers’ meeting & UAE (joint visit) (b) Since 5 July 2024, Junior Ministers in the Department for Business and Trade have carried out fourteen international visits. These were: Minister Jones to Italy to attend the Ambrosetti ForumMinister Alexander to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Oman to progress GCC FTA negotiations, to Thailand for the Enhanced Trade Partnership and to Laos for the ASEAN Economic Ministers Meeting (combined visit)Minister Jones to France to visit Airbus ToulouseMinister Madders to France for the OECD for a Consumer Ministerial meetingMinister Alexander to Ireland for the British Ireland Chamber of Commerce Annual ConferenceMinister Alexander to Switzerland to visit the WTOMinister Alexander to Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for the Future Investment Initiative conferenceMinister Gustafsson to the Netherlands for the World Pension SummitMinister Jones to Poland for the Rebuild Ukraine conferenceMinister Alexander to Azerbaijan for COP29Minister Gustafsson to Spain for the UK-Spain Business AwardsMinister Thomas to Italy for PontignanoMinister Alexander to Vancouver for the CPTPP Commissioners MeetingMinister Gustafsson to Hong Kong & China for MIPIM Asia

How many new businesses were registered on Companies House in each month since July 2024.

Official statistics on company incorporation are published quarterly. These are made publicly available online by Companies House. We have excerpted and reproduced the relevant figures for your convenience below:Monthly Incorporation VolumesMonthIncorporationsPublished Incorporations, QuarterlyJuly 202463,820 August 202462,956 September 202464,907191,683The most recent complete datasets can be found here:Incorporated companies in the UK July to September 2024 - GOV.UKStatistics for previous periods are available here.Companies House will publish the next quarterly release on 30 January 2025 which will cover the period from October to December 2024.

How many applications for standard individual export licences were made between July and November 2024.

We will release statistics on export licensing outcomes relating to this period one quarter at a time via our regular Strategic Export Controls Licensing Statistical Releases.Export licensing statistics for 1 January to 30 June 2024 were published on 12 December 2024: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/announcements/strategic-export-controls-licensing-statistics-1-january-to-31-march-2024 and https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/announcements/strategic-export-controls-licensing-statistics-1-april-to-30-june-2024.Statistics for July to September 2024 will be available by March 2025, and statistics for October to December 2024 will be available by June 2025. In addition, we will publish data from 2024 as a whole in the 2024 Annual Report, including the number of licensing applications we have received during the year, which we will publish in the Summer 2025.

What consultation was undertaken before publication of the (a) Fair Payment and (b) Disability Finance Code.

A new Fair Payment Code which is more credible, enforceable, and ambitious was launched earlier this month to replace the former Prompt Payment Code. This followed feedback from small business stakeholder groups, including Federation of Small Businesses, Enterprise Nation and others. The Disability Finance Code for Entrepreneurship has been led in partnership with founding signatories: Barclays, HSBC UK, Lloyds Banking Group and NatWest, alongside delivery partners, UK Finance and the British Business Bank. This forms part of the government backed Lilac Review led by Small Business Britain which is examining ways to address barriers facing disabled entrepreneurs.

How many applications for loans to the British Business Bank were made between July and November 2024.

Data from the British Business Bank’s Start Up Loans programme should be publicly available in 2025. Other loan applications for British Business Bank products are managed through delivery partners, such as banks, leasing companies, venture capital funds and web-based platforms.

Whether he plans to update the guidance on the UK subsidy control regime.

The Department for Business and Trade keeps guidance on the subsidy control regime under regular review. The last substantive update to the statutory guidance was in December 2023 and the next update is planned for early 2025. The Department has also recently published two new guides to assist public authorities in completing subsidy control principles assessments.

What assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the minutes of the meeting of the Consultative Committee on Construction Industry Statistics on 28 October 2024, published on 2 December 2024.

The Consultative Committee on Construction Industry Statistics (CCCIS) is a long running forum for producers and users of official statistics on construction to engage with expert users. The meetings are chaired by the Department for Business and Trade, and include cross-government statisticians, representatives of industry bodies and academics. Information from discussions at the meeting in October will contribute to improving the reliability of official statistics on the construction sector and drive policy development, alongside engagement with key stakeholders and evidence gathering.