Written questions by Obese-Jecty.

With reference to the UK’s Modern Industrial Strategy, CP 1337, published on 23 June 2025, how much of the £350 million Nations and Regions investment fund will be spent in Huntingdon constituency.

The British Business Bank is committing £2.6bn to drive growth of smaller businesses across the UK’s Nations and Regions. This includes £350 million for two new Investment Funds in East and South-East England to address finance gaps outside traditional hotspots and provide targeted equity and debt finance to growing businesses.The breakdown of finance allocated to these regions has not yet been announced. The Funds do not include constituency-level allocations, but as with other Nations and Regions Funds, deployment targets will be set at sub-regional level to ensure an equitable spread of finance.

With reference to the UK’s Modern Industrial Strategy, CP 1337, published on 23 June 2025, what progress he has made on creating the new British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme.

The British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme (BICS) will be implemented from 2027, reducing electricity costs by approximately £35-40/MWh for eligible businesses in foundational industries and high-growth manufacturing sectors identified in the Industrial Strategy.The Department for Business and Trade has established a new team dedicated to delivering BICS. Officials have begun meeting with stakeholders and a consultation on eligibility for the scheme is planned for later this year.

Communities and Local Government, how many days were lost to sickness absence by civil servants in their Department (a) in total and (b) on average per employee between 5 July 2024 and 4 July 2025.

Sickness absence data for the Civil Service, including departmental breakdowns is published annually, and is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/sickness-absence. The next update will be for the year ending 31st March 2025.

What estimate he has made of the number of jobs the Tempest Global Combat Air Programme will create.

There are over 4,500 people working on the Future Combat Air System programme across the UK. At the core of the programme is the trilateral Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP) partnership between the UK, Japan and Italy to deliver a next-generation combat aircraft. We expect GCAP to support thousands of jobs across all three nations.

With reference to the UK’s Modern Industrial Strategy, CP 1337, published on 23 June 2025, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of increasing support for the Oxford to Cambridge growth corridor on Huntingdon constituency.

The Industrial Strategy is a 10-year plan to back our strengths and realise Britain’s potential, targeting government investment towards eight-growth driving sectors (IS-8). There are clusters of the IS-8 sectors across the whole country, and the policy package addresses the biggest constraints to growth highlighted by businesses in these sectors.To ensure robust and comprehensive monitoring and evaluation of the Industrial Strategy, we have chosen six economic indicators that reflect a range of desirable objectives for the IS-8 and the economy as a whole, which will be tracked at the economy-wide, sector and place level. Monitoring and evaluation of the Strategy will be overseen by the Industrial Strategy Advisory Council who will take a data-led approach.

With reference to the UK’s Modern Industrial Strategy, CP 1337, published on 23 June 2025, what steps has he taken to increase support for the Oxford to Cambridge growth corridor.

The Industrial Strategy is a 10-year plan to back our strengths and realise Britain’s potential, targeting government investment towards eight-growth driving sectors (IS-8). The strategy sets out how we will deepen our support for the Oxford Cambridge Growth Corridor and its IS-8 strengths such as Life Sciences and Digitial and Technologies. This includes:taking forward major infrastructure projects including East-West Rail, a new mainline station at Tempsford, and securing new water reservoirs in the area;locating the UK’s first AI Growth Zone in Culham;increasing the supply of high-quality research facilities, funding the Cambridge Growth Company to invest and work with local partners on infrastructure delivery; and,continued investment in the fifteen Health Innovation Networks across England.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to the UK’s Modern Industrial Strategy, CP 1337, published on 23 June 2025, what her planned timetable is for publishing further information on the funding of the Cambridge Growth Company.

The Cambridge Growth Company is focused primarily on the Greater Cambridge area. Greater Cambridge is comprised of the city of Cambridge and the surrounding South Cambridgeshire District Council. Following the Spending Review, my Department is now working through departmental allocations. Once this process is complete, we will be in a position to make clear what the Spending Review means for funding for the Cambridge Growth Company.

Innovation and Technology, how many days were lost to sickness absence by civil servants in their Department (a) in total and (b) on average per employee between 5 July 2024 and 4 July 2025.

Sickness absence data for the Civil Service, including departmental breakdowns is published annually, and is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/sickness-absence.The next update will be for the year ending 31st March 2025.

How many days were lost to sickness absence by civil servants in their Department (a) in total and (b) on average per employee between 5 July 2024 and 4 July 2025.

Sickness absence data for the Civil Service, including departmental breakdowns is published annually, and is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/sickness-absence.The next update will be for the year ending 31st March 2025.

With reference to the UK’s Modern Industrial Strategy, CP 1337, published on 23 June 2025, how many investable sites have been brought forward through the Government’s £600m Strategic Sites Accelerator.

The Strategic Sites Accelerator is a new programme, announced as part of the UK’s Industrial Strategy, backed by over £600 million in public funding. The programme is currently at an early stage of design, as such, investment sites have not yet been brought forward. We will engage the market and all levels on government on our approach to guide investment decisions, to ensure the programme achieves its aims, is market-led and delivers value-for-money for the tax payer. We expect any site development and capital deployment to occur in the next financial year.

How many of the investible sites due to be delivered via the Strategic Sites Accelerator are in the Huntingdon constituency.

The Strategic Sites Accelerator is a new programme, announced as part of the UK’s Industrial Strategy, backed by over £600 million in public funding. The programme is at an early stage of design so the number and we have not yet determined the location of any sites.

Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of increasing the tax rate paid by bookmakers to align it with the online gaming tax rate on Huntingdon Racecourse.

Future proposals on Gambling Duties are a matter for HMT, should legislative changes come about following this consultation, we expect them to be accompanied by tax and impact notes from HMT, as is standard practice.

How many days were lost to sickness absence by civil servants in their Department (a) in total and (b) on average per employee between 5 July 2024 and 4 July 2025.

Sickness absence data for the Civil Service, including departmental breakdowns is published annually, and is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/sickness-absence. The next update will be for the year ending 31st March 2025.

What assessment he has made of trends in the level of growth potential in defence-related industries in Huntingdon constituency.

The Ministry of Defence is committed to ensuring defence is an engine for growth. However, we have made no assessment of growth potential in defence-related industries in Huntingdon constituency specifically. The Defence Industrial Strategy published on 8 September 2025 clearly set out how we are making defence an engine for growth - investing more money in key defence areas and regions across the UK to create good jobs.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to the UK’s Modern Industrial Strategy, CP 1337, published on 23 June 2025, which areas within Cambridgeshire fall within the scope of the Cambridge Growth Company.

The Cambridge Growth Company is focused primarily on the Greater Cambridge area. Greater Cambridge is comprised of the city of Cambridge and the surrounding South Cambridgeshire District Council. Following the Spending Review, my Department is now working through departmental allocations. Once this process is complete, we will be in a position to make clear what the Spending Review means for funding for the Cambridge Growth Company.

With reference to the UK’s Modern Industrial Strategy, CP 1337, published on 23 June 2025, what recent progress he has made on reducing the administrative costs of regulation for businesses.

The Industrial Strategy included a package of ambitious forms that will contribute to the target to cut administrative burdens to businesses by 25% by the end of the parliament.These included harnessing the potential of new technology to make compliance with money laundering regulations simpler through the use of digital identity verification checks, removing requirements and increasing the permissible size for air source heat pumps. Alongside these, the Government will deliver several recommendations made by the industry-HMG licencing taskforce, including introducing a Licencing Policy Framework; pending consultation, this would significantly reduce the regulatory burden on the UK’s hospitality industry.

With reference to the UK’s Modern Industrial Strategy, CP 1337, published on 23 June 2025, when he expects the Office for Investment to establish a new national investment partnership framework to help Mayoral Strategic Authorities to build their investment (a) capacity and (b) capability.

The Office for Investment (OfI) aims to support the integration of more seamless investment services through deepened partnership working with key regional partners and building of local investment capacity and capacity. The OfI is already taking steps in line with its commitment in the Modern Industrial Strategy through the delivery of the Strategic Investment and Engagement Framework programme in 2025/26. This is designed to support Mayoral Strategic Authorities (MCAs) and other local authority partners in the North of England and the Midlands to fund locally impactful investment services. We will continue to review this framework to ensure we are effectively supporting MCAs to build investment capacity and capability.

With reference to the UK’s Modern Industrial Strategy, CP 1337, published on 23 June 2025, what progress he has made in developing the new business growth service.

The Modern Industrial Strategy, our 10-year growth plan, will unlock our economic potential and forge a new relationship between business and government. We will make it easier for businesses to invest, cutting bureaucracy and exploring new digital technologies. In July 2025, alongside the Plan For Small Business, we launched the Business Growth Service (BGS), a national service bringing together all existing core services and new, improved elements of the business support offer. We have designed and implemented the BGS by working closely with local and devolved governments, the Growth Hubs network and key partners, such as Innovate UK and the British Business Bank.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many days were lost to sickness absence by civil servants in their Department (a) in total and (b) on average per employee between 5 July 2024 and 4 July 2025.

The Cabinet Office publishes an annual report on sickness absence in different government departments and agencies, the most recent edition of which - published in January 2025 - can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/civil-service-sickness-absence-2024/civil-service-sickness-absence-2024-report.

With reference to the UK’s Modern Industrial Strategy, CP 1337, published on 23 June 2025, what his Department's approach is to placements within industry.

The department is developing a comprehensive strategy for post‐16 education and skills, to break down barriers to opportunity, support the development of a skilled workforce, and drive economic growth through our Industrial Strategy.T Levels are a key element of our skills strategy and all T Levels contain a mandatory industry placement of at least 45 days with an employer, focused on developing practical and technical skills for that area. Providers are responsible for arranging these placements. To support employers, funding is available in 2025/26 to help cover essential costs.The government has announced a £625 million skills package for the construction sector. This will include measures designed to raise awareness, boost access and improve the quality of training available, ensuring that more young people are equipped with the skills the construction sector urgently needs. As part of this package, the government has committed £100 million alongside a £32 million contribution from the Construction Industry Training Board to fund up to 40,000 Industry Placements each year for all level 2 and level 3 construction learners.