Written questions by Holden.

Whether his Department (a) employs staff and (b) uses contractors on zero hour contracts; and whether any (i) staff and (ii) contractors are paid less than the London Living Wage.

The Department for Business and Trade does not use zero hours contracts for staff or contractors. Civil Servants are employed either as Senior Civil Servants or as one of the Delegated Grades with salaries determined by the relevant pay bands. The Department does not pay any staff or contractors less than the London living wage and this applies to staff based in London and Nationally. Please see the tables below for our current National and London pay scales for Delegated Grades. DBT pay bands 2024/25 - LondonGradeLondon minLondon maxAO (spot rate)£32,051£32,051EO£32,744£34,669HEO£38,138£39,994Fast Stream£35,483£39,578SEO£44,942£48,817G7£59,450£66,338G6£70,845£78,192DBT pay bands 2024/25 - NationalGradeNational minNational maxAO (spot rate)£27,685£27,685EO£28,695£30,664HEO£34,254£36,142Fast Stream£35,483£39,578SEO£41,156£45,112G7£55,836£62,823G6£67,170£76,117

Pursuant to the Answer of 19 February 2025 to Question 30700 on Department for Business and Trade: Staff, how many officials in his Department worked in roles relating to international trade in each year since its creation.

The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) operates a flexible resourcing model to support for matters relating to international trade, and not every employee in scope solely supports this function, full time. DBT defines the scope of this question to be employees whose primary profession has been recorded as “International Trade".Statistics are available from the DBT Annual Civil Service Employment Survey and are published on Gov.uk.The DBT was created in 2023, and official professions data specific to this department is only available from the 2024 survey. The figure provided includes payroll domestic, and UK based overseas staff in-post in DBT on 31 March 2024.Professions data prior to 2024 was provided by DBTs predecessors, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and the Department for International Trade. This data is readily available on Gov.uk: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/civil-service-statisticsPublication YearHeadcount20241550

What discussions his Department had with ISG on its internal audit functions prior to that company going into administration; and what steps he is taking to ensure the adequacy of (a) audit and (b) governance legislation.

The Government announced that it would publish a draft audit reform and corporate governance bill in the King’s Speech, which is expected to include extending enhanced Public Interest Entity audit requirements to very large private companies. The Government is currently undertaking a review of non-financial reporting and aims to consult later in 2025 on reforms to simplify the UK’s corporate reporting framework. This will provide an opportunity to consider the potential merits of additional reporting requirements like an Audit and Assurance Policy statement. The financial resilience of major suppliers to government, including firms working on infrastructure projects, is monitored on an ongoing basis by the Crown Commercial Service.

What steps he is taking to help resolve issues around the administration of ISG; and if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of requiring construction firms awarded major public infrastructure projects to have an internal audit function.

The Government announced that it would publish a draft audit reform and corporate governance bill in the King’s Speech, which is expected to include extending enhanced Public Interest Entity audit requirements to very large private companies. The Government is currently undertaking a review of non-financial reporting and aims to consult later in 2025 on reforms to simplify the UK’s corporate reporting framework. This will provide an opportunity to consider the potential merits of additional reporting requirements like an Audit and Assurance Policy statement. The financial resilience of major suppliers to government, including firms working on infrastructure projects, is monitored on an ongoing basis by the Crown Commercial Service.

If he will make an assessment of the potential merits of requiring the largest (a) private and (b) public companies to publish a triennial Audit and Assurance Policy mandating them to report (i) internal audit and (ii) other assurance capabilities.

The Government announced that it would publish a draft audit reform and corporate governance bill in the King’s Speech, which is expected to include extending enhanced Public Interest Entity audit requirements to very large private companies. The Government is currently undertaking a review of non-financial reporting and aims to consult later in 2025 on reforms to simplify the UK’s corporate reporting framework. This will provide an opportunity to consider the potential merits of additional reporting requirements like an Audit and Assurance Policy statement. The financial resilience of major suppliers to government, including firms working on infrastructure projects, is monitored on an ongoing basis by the Crown Commercial Service.

Whether he plans to widen the definition of a public interest entity to include the largest companies not listed on the main London Stock Exchange.

The Government’s plans to widen the definition of a Public Interest Entity were announced in the King’s Speech.

Whether he has had discussions with his counterparts in the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) on establishing a permanent secretariat for the CPTPP in the UK.

Ministers and Senior Officials meet regularly with their counterparts to discuss CPTPP issues. In November last year, CPTPP Ministers, including the UK, agreed the Vancouver Statement, providing an interim report on the CPTPP General Review. This covered a number of recommendations for taking the review forward, including a proposal for further discussions around improving the effective implementation and operation of the Agreement. The Statement noted that ‘these discussions should cover a range of approaches, including, but not limited to, the possible establishment of a secretariat’. The UK will continue to engage in such discussions with other CPTPP Parties under the auspices of the General Review in the coming year.

How many officials in (a) his Department and (b) predecessors to his Department have worked in roles relating to international trade in each of the last 27 years.

The information is not readily available or held centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Whether his Department has undertaken an evaluation of the effectiveness of the Trade Commissioners programme since it was established.

His Majesty’s Trade Commissioners (HMTCs) represent and promote the UK in markets across the world. They lead on export promotion, both inward and outward investment, and trade policy overseas on behalf of His Majesty’s Government (HMG). Their work includes developing regional plans to deliver the Department for Business and Trade’s priorities in global markets and then leading their teams to deliver those priorities.HMTCs are an important part of the department’s regional leadership rather than a programme, so are not subject to programme evaluation.

Whether he plans to include appointments to the Fair Work Agency in the Public Bodies Order in Council; and whether the chair appointment will be classified as a significant appointment.

The Employment Rights Bill is the first stage of Fair Work Agency implementation, and we will publish further details around the establishment of the FWA in due course. We will make the FWA Chair appointment in accordance with the Cabinet Office’s Governance Code on Public Appointments, as regulated by the Commissioner for Public Appointments.

If he will take steps to ensure the availability of positive mental health initiatives including (a) on-site mental health resources, (b) training for employers in mental health first aid and (c) helplines for the construction industry.

Considerable investment has been made in improving mental health in the construction sector. Since 2018, the Construction Industry Training Board has supported 950 employers and invested over £1.5m in mental health projects, including training mental health first aiders, and providing awareness training and other resources. The Construction Leadership Council is working in partnership with the Mates in Mind charity, the University of Warwick, and firms in the construction industry, to identify the underlying factors leading to poor mental health, and how to tackle these.

Whether (a) his Department and (b) the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service issue guidance on exemptions to trade union recognition.

Guidance on the trade union recognition scheme is at Gov.UK. This sets out that the scheme is available to unions where the workplace has 21 or more workers. Therefore the smallest workplaces that have 20 or less workers not in scope of the scheme. The Ce...

What information (a) his Department, (b) the Certification Officer and (c) the Central Arbitration Committee hold on (i) successful and (ii) unsuccessful trade union recognition ballots in each of the

Information from the Central Arbitration Committee in relation to the outcome of statutory trade union recognition ballots is provided below for each of the last 10 years: SuccessfulUnsuccessful201544201651201754201876201962202020202184202251202335202445

What assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of (a) lowering the required member percentage from 10% to 2% for the statutory trade union recognition ballot process, (b) removing the

The Government has published a final stage impact assessment on strengthening workers’ rights to access, recognition and representation. This is available at: Impact assessment: Strengthening workers’ rights to trade union access, recognition and represen...

How much funding her Department has provided to help support small and medium-sized enterprises to export in each of the last 15 years; and how much funding his Department has made available for this p

Given changes within the department and across government over the last 15 years further information on export specific funding cannot be provided without breaching the disproportionate cost limit.The cost of support for SMEs to export over the previous 7...

If he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the Employment Rights Bill on the ability of employers to contact a (a) full-time and (b) part-time employee outside of their (i) normal and (ii

The right to switch off is not part of the Employment Rights Bill. It will be delivered through a statutory Code of Practice which will be the subject of a full public consultation in due course. The consultation will give interested parties the opportuni...

What recent guidance his Department has provided on when Departments should publish a regulatory impact assessment when bringing forward a Bill to Parliament.

The general requirement for departments to make available the final impact assessment of a government bill introduced to Parliament is set out in the Guide to Making Legislation, published by the Cabinet Office, and affirmed in the Better Regulation Frame...

Whether there is an embargo on spare parts for foreign cars.

The UK has not placed a blanket embargo on spare parts for foreign cars.All information on trade sanctions, embargoes and restrictions, including trade controls and transit controls can be found on GOV.UK [here].

What information was provided to him on the public finances prior to taking office; whether he has received any additional information since taking office; and what his policy is on the provision of information to prospective future governments prior to elections.

The process for access talks is set out in the Cabinet Manual. Access talks are initiated with permission from the Prime Minister of the day and are confidential.It is a long-established precedent that information about the discussions that have taken place between Cabinet ministers and officials is not shared publicly.

What steps his Department is taking to support high street post office counter services.

The Post Office is an essential service in communities across the country. The Government is committed to finding ways to strengthen the Post Office, through consulting with sub-postmasters, trade unions and customers. This will include supporting the development of new products, services and business models that will help reinvigorate the high street.