Written questions by Baldwin.

How many construction businesses the Minister of State for Industry has visited since 4 July 2024.

Details of the meetings held by Ministers of the Department for Business and Trade are available on transparency pages of gov.uk and are released as part of the Government’s transparency agenda.However, I have attended events such as AtkinsRealis and Screwfix Live and also met with multiple Trade Associations and companies across the sector through my role as Co-Chair of the Construction Leadership Council, including Build UK, The Civil Engineering Contractors Association, The Builders Merchants Federation and Mace.

How many people were (a) awarded Pension Credit and (b) paid Winter Fuel Allowance in West Worcestershire constituency in (i) 2024-25 and (ii) 2023-24.

Pension Credit and Winter Fuel Payments are household level benefits. Pension Credit caseload statistics are routinely published and made publicly available via DWP Stat-xplore. In February 2024, 1,929 households were claiming Pension Credit in West Worcestershire. Data for 2024-25 is only available up to May 2024. At this point in time, there were 1,933 households claiming Pension Credit in the West Worcestershire constituency. In Winter 2023 to 2024, 18,868 pensioner households received the Winter Fuel Payment in the West Worcestershire constituency. (Source: Winter Fuel Payment statistics for winter 2023 to 2024 - GOV.UK). Official Winter Fuel Payment statistics for Winter 2024 to 2025 are expected to be released by the end of 2025.

What targets his Department has set to help achieve the Government's commitments to net zero.

The Climate Change Act sets our commitment to reach net zero emissions by 2050 in law. The UK has halved its emissions, having cut them by around 53% between 1990 and 2023. As my Rt hon Friend the Prime Minister announced on 12th November, the UK has pledged to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions by at least 81% on 1990 levels by 2035, excluding international aviation and shipping.

What underspends are projected in (a) his Department and (b) each of its arms length bodies in this financial year.

Final 2024-25 budgets for the Department and its arm’s length bodies will be confirmed through the Supplementary Estimate process. The Department has requested budgets at Supplementary Estimate that minimise underspends whilst enabling it to manage risks and the inherent volatility in its Annually Managed Expenditure and Financial Transactions budgets. Any underspends this financial year will be confirmed once the 2024-25 Annual Report and Accounts are finalised and published.

What discussions he has had with the Prime Minister on the sectors in the scope of an India-UK Free Trade Agreement.

The Prime Minister is committed to delivering growth and opportunities throughout the UK, which a trade deal with India will support.Negotiating a deal with India will align with the UK's Modern Industrial Strategy, enabling our world-leading sectors to adapt and grow, as well as seizing opportunities to lead in new sectors.

How many in-year awards were made to officials in his Department since 5 July 2024.

The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) operates a fully in year reward system for delegated grades and, like in other departments, has a non-consolidated performance budget that is derived from a percentage of the pay bill. In DBT, this is 1.3% and may be spent on cash or vouchers (up to a maximum of £2,500 per employee in any financial year).Between 5th July 2024 and 19th December 2024, DBT made 3,468 cash in-year awards (with a total value of £1,551,060) and 2,466 non-cash awards (with a total value of £190,648).

What meetings for what purpose (a) he and (b) Ministers in his Department have had with representatives of the European Union since 5 July 2024.

Since 5 July 2024, the Secretary of State for Business and Trade has held meetings with Commissioner Dombrovskis on three occasions: an introductory call on 10 July 2024; a meeting at the G7 Trade Ministerial in Italy; and a meeting at the G20 in Brazil. On each of these occasions the Secretary of State underlined the Government’s commitment to reset our relationship with the EU.

What meetings for what purpose (a) he and (b) Ministers in his Department have had with representatives of the People's Republic of China since 5 July 2024.

The Secretary of State for Business and Trade met the Vice Minister of Commerce in the margins of the G20 trade summit in Brazil to discuss the UK-China trade relationship. The Minister for Employment Rights, Competition and Markets met the Vice Minister of the State Administration for Market Regulation in the UK to discuss competition issues.

If he will publish the minutes of the Indian Business Leaders delegation meeting of 18 December 2024.

On 18 December 2024, a business delegation of 13 Indian companies met with the UK's Prime Minister and senior Cabinet Ministers in a curated visit to enhance the UK-India partnership.The delegation provided perspectives on opportunities for investment and economic growth between the UK and India and discussed opportunities under a UK-India trade deal. The timing of the meeting was agreed in the second half of 2024 and there is no intention to publish minutes of the meeting.

When the timing of the meeting of 18 December 2024 with the Indian Business Leaders delegation was agreed.

On 18 December 2024, a business delegation of 13 Indian companies met with the UK's Prime Minister and senior Cabinet Ministers in a curated visit to enhance the UK-India partnership.The delegation provided perspectives on opportunities for investment and economic growth between the UK and India and discussed opportunities under a UK-India trade deal. The timing of the meeting was agreed in the second half of 2024 and there is no intention to publish minutes of the meeting.

Whether (a) he, (b) ministers in his Department and (c) officials in his Department have had meetings with President-Elect Trump.

The incoming US administration is still in the process of appointing senior staff.The Prime Minister had a warm introductory call with President-Elect Trump on 6 November. During this call, the Prime Minister offered his congratulations and said he looked forward to working closely with President-elect Trump across all areas of the special relationship. The Prime Minister spoke to the President-elect again on 18 December. Neither the Secretary of State, Ministers, nor officials in the Department have had meetings with President-Elect Trump's transition team.

Whether he plans to appoint Trade Envoys.

The Trade Envoy programme will continue and the House will of course be notified of any appointments in due course.

Whether he plans to bring forward hub and spoke dispensing legislation for pharmacies in 2025.

The Government is working towards introducing legislation to enable hub and spoke dispensing between different legal entities in 2025. This change will be enabled via amendments to both primary and secondary legislation, and is subject to the usual parliamentary processes.

What information she holds on the number of people who have taken advantage of the ability to remove £500 from their pension scheme to pay for financial advice in each of the last five financial years.

We do not hold the information requested. Neither schemes nor individuals are required to provide HMRC with this information.

On what dates he has met with representatives of BMW since 5 July 2024.

DBT Secretary of State regularly meets businesses including those in the automotive sector. These meetings are recorded in publicly available transparency data on the .GOV web site under ‘DBT: Ministerial gifts, hospitality, overseas travel and meetings’ which is being updated to include meetings since July.

If she will publish the annual profile of the redirected HS2 funds announced for Worcestershire in October 2023.

The previous Government made a series of funding promises in its Network North plan, the affordability of which this Government has had to re-examine. The Department for Transport will say more on long-term highway maintenance and other funding for Worcestershire and other places after phase 2 of the Spending Review which is due to conclude in the late spring. In the meantime, the Chancellor of the Exchequer confirmed in the Budget on 30 October that local highway authorities would benefit from an additional £500 million for local highway maintenance in the 2025/26 financial year. This represents an increase of nearly 50% in comparison to the current financial year. Allocations to individual highway authorities will be announced shortly.

On what dates he has met with representatives of Nissan since 5 July 2024.

DBT Secretary of State regularly meets businesses including those in the automotive sector. These meetings are recorded in publicly available transparency data on the .GOV web site under ‘DBT: Ministerial gifts, hospitality, overseas travel and meetings’ which is being updated to include meetings since July.

On what dates he has met with representatives of Jaguar Land Rover since 5 July 2024.

DBT Secretary of State regularly meets businesses including those in the automotive sector. These meetings are recorded in publicly available transparency data on the .GOV web site under ‘DBT: Ministerial gifts, hospitality, overseas travel and meetings’ which is being updated to include meetings since July.

When his Department plans to publish the small business strategy.

The government will publish its Small Business Strategy in 2025 after the Phase 2 Spending Review. This will set out the government’s vision for supporting small businesses, from boosting scale-ups to growing the co-operative economy and across key policy areas.

How many international trips Ministers in his Department have undertaken since 5 July 2024.

Since 5th July 2024, Ministers within the Department for Business and Trade have undertaken 22 international trips.