Every parliamentary written question tabled by Andrew Griffith this session, with the full answer and department. See how every department answers, or back to the MP page.
Showing 161–180 of 436 · this parliament
What the (a) membership and (b) appointment process will be for the UK-China Industrial Decarbonisation Working Group.
The UK-China Industrial Decarbonisation Working Group will comprise officials from the Department for Business and Trade and China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.
What the full terms of reference will be for the UK-China Industrial Decarbonisation Working Group.
The UK-China Industrial Decarbonisation Working Group will focus on accelerating decarbonisation of UK and Chinese industry, and identifying opportunities for commercial collaboration in relevant subsectors linked to industrial decarbonisation, such as CCUS.Further discussion on areas of focus will take place at the first meeting.
When the UK-China Industrial Decarbonisation Working Group will be operational.
Agreement to establish a UK-China Industrial Decarbonisation Working Group was an outcome of the Industrial Cooperation Dialogue between the Department of Business and Trade and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, which took place on Wednesday 10 September 2025.Discussions on scheduling the first meeting of the group are ongoing.
If he will make an assessment of the potential impact of limiting worker's companions in (a) disciplinary and (b) grievance hearings on non-trade union member workers.
Existing legislation aims to keep disciplinary and grievance procedures internal to the workplace. Expanding the right to be accompanied to professional bodies, including legal professionals, may reduce the prospects of amicable resolution, potentially increasing employment tribunals and therefore legal costs for all parties.The law already provides that workers are entitled to bring a companion who is either a colleague, an official employed by a trade union, or a workplace trade union representative. Employers can allow workers to be accompanied by a companion outside of this scope and some workers may already have a contractual right to do so.
How many officials from his Department were on site at British Steel Limited locations in each week since 12 April 2025.
There has been a consistent senior civil servant presence on British Steel's Scunthorpe site since 12 April, supporting British Steel's management team and providing oversight of public funds. The senior civil servants are supported on site by a range of staff from the Department for Business and Trade and UK Government Investments.
What estimate he has made of the cost to employers of disciplinary and grievance hearings taking place (a) with a worker's companion and (b) without a worker's companion.
Under existing legislation, we would not expect to see a difference in cost to the employer between a disciplinary or grievance hearing where the worker has a companion or does not have a companion. If the worker were to be accompanied by a trade union representative, the worker would pay for this through their trade union membership.
If he will list the responsibilities of each of his Department's Ministers.
Departmental Ministerial portfolios can be found at Department for Business and Trade - GOV.UK
What his policy is on investors state dispute settlement provisions with India.
The UK recognises that investors state dispute settlement provisions as an interest of UK business. In parallel to the Free Trade Agreement, we are negotiating a Bilateral Investment Treaty to progress UK interests. These talks have not concluded, and the agreement remains under discussion.
How long the scrutiny period for documents laid before Parliament for the UK-India trade deal will be.
The Secretary of State commissioned the Chair of Trade and Agriculture Commission upon signature of the India FTA and has given the Chair until 24 October to provide advice which will be laid before Parliament shortly thereafter. The Government will then produce a Section 42 Report, under its obligations in the Agriculture Act 2020, in collaboration with the Food Standards Agency and Food Standards Scotland, which will be laid in Parliament once we have considered the Commission's advice. Per the Government’s Trade Strategy, there will be at least 20 sitting days between the publication of the Section 42 Report and any triggering of the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act process.
When he will lay before Parliament the (a) section 42 Agriculture Act 2020 report and (b) Trade and Agriculture Commission’s advice for the UK–India trade deal.
The Secretary of State commissioned the Chair of Trade and Agriculture Commission upon signature of the India FTA and has given the Chair until 24 October to provide advice which will be laid before Parliament shortly thereafter. The Government will then produce a Section 42 Report, under its obligations in the Agriculture Act 2020, in collaboration with the Food Standards Agency and Food Standards Scotland, which will be laid in Parliament once we have considered the Commission's advice. Per the Government’s Trade Strategy, there will be at least 20 sitting days between the publication of the Section 42 Report and any triggering of the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act process.
What assessment he has made of the potential impact of the (a) mobility provisions and (b) Double Contributions Convention in the UK–India trade deal on UK sectors facing skills shortages; and if he will publish any (i) modelling and (ii) assumptions.
The UK–India trade deal includes mobility provisions that support short-term business mobility for highly skilled professionals. These provisions do not affect the UK’s points-based immigration system and are not expected to add to net migration in the long term. The Double Contributions Convention (DCC) that the UK is negotiating with India will be a standard reciprocal social security agreement, similar to those the UK has covering 22 countries and the European Union. The DCC will not make it cheaper to hire Indian workers and nothing in the agreement will change our immigration regime. Modelling and assumptions related to the DCC are not included in the FTA’s Impact Assessment, as the DCC is a separate treaty. The Office for Budget Responsibility will certify the impact of the trade deal including the Double Contributions Convention in the usual way at a fiscal event once the DCC is finalised and ratified.
If he will publish UK–India (a) tariff schedules, (b) rules of origin annexes and (c) concordance tables for businesses.
The full treaty, including goods tariff schedules and rules of origin annexes are published on Gov.uk and have been laid in the House. The Government will implement the changes to UK tariffs in line with usual procedures.
When HMRC plan to respond to the correspondence of (a) 13 March, (b) 10 June and (c) 10 July from the hon. Member for Arundel and South Downs.
A response was issued on 30 July 2025.
What steps his Department is taking to support the manufacture of low earth orbit satellite systems.
As we set out in the Modern Industrial Strategy, the manufacture of small satellites and payloads are a clear priority and strength of the UK space sector that this Government will support. Small satellites and their payloads are key to unlocking the benefits of Low Earth Orbit and several of our Industrial Strategy interventions will support this ambition. This includes a stronger focus on specific capabilities in Low Earth Orbit, new financial support mechanisms to accelerate scaling up manufacturing capacity and increased work with investors to identify suitable routes to private growth capital.
Whether he has had recent discussions with his Canadian counterpart on a potential trade deal with Argentina.
The Business and Trade Secretary had a warm introductory conversation with his Canadian counterpart Minister Sidhu at the G7, where they discussed the bilateral trading relationship and agreed to work together on deepening and growing the bilateral trading relationship further. They did not discuss a trade deal with Argentina.
What recent discussions (a) he, (b) Ministers and (c) officials in his Department have had with the Canadian Government on a potential UK-Canada trade deal.
Canada is a close ally and valued partner of the UK, with trade underpinned by our existing trade agreement worth around £28 billion in 2024.Growing our bilateral trade is a shared priority. As agreed between our Prime Ministers at the G7, the UK and Canada have established a new Working Group to deepen the bilateral trading relationship further. This includes seeking to address existing market access barriers affecting bilateral UK-Canada trade and expanding existing arrangements into new areas, including digital trade.The Working Group will begin meeting in the months ahead and report back to both Prime Ministers within six months.
What steps he is taking to support businesses developing vertical and short take-off and landing aircraft.
The UK aerospace sector is a global leader in aircraft innovation. Through the Aerospace Technology Institute Programme, the Government is investing up to £2.3 billion in R&D to 2035. This includes over £34 million awarded to Vertical Aerospace, supporting its development of electric vertical take-off landing (eVTOL) aircraft and reinforcing the UK’s position in sustainable aviation. Such support will enable the government to meet its objective of commercial piloted eVTOL from 2028.
What steps he is taking to increase access to venture capital funding for businesses.
UK venture funding appears to be stabilising after the downturn seen during 2021-2022, with dealmaking recovering and job creation increasing. It is important to note company fundraising is proving more resilient than fund fundraising, creating a tougher overall environment for fund managers despite the increase in company rounds completing. The capital gap facing UK scaleups is a pressing concern, making it essential for public finance bodies to act quickly to support fund managers and expand the pools of growth capital available to scaleups.
What assessment he has made of recent trends in the level of venture capital funding into the UK.
UK venture funding appears to be stabilising after the downturn seen during 2021-2022, with dealmaking recovering and job creation increasing. It is important to note company fundraising is proving more resilient than fund fundraising, creating a tougher overall environment for fund managers despite the increase in company rounds completing. The capital gap facing UK scaleups is a pressing concern, making it essential for public finance bodies to act quickly to support fund managers and expand the pools of growth capital available to scaleups.
What discussions she has had with business groups on the impact of increases to employer's National Insurance contributions.
Ministers and officials from multiple Government departments have had meetings with organisations which have covered this matter since Autumn Budget 2024.A Tax Information and Impact Note (TIIN) was published alongside the introduction of the Bill containing the changes to employer NICs. The TIIN sets out the impact of the policy on the exchequer, the economic impacts of the policy, and the impacts on individuals, businesses, and civil society organisations, as well as an overview of the equality impacts.The Government decided to protect the smallest businesses from the changes to employer NICs by increasing the Employment Allowance from £5,000 to £10,500. This means that this year, 865,000 employers will pay no NICs at all, and more than half of all employers will either gain or will see no change.