Andrew Griffith MP: written questions
210 published records · newest first.
Written questions
Trade: RegulationDepartment for Business and TradeTabled 14 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 105799More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 13 January 2026 to Question 104305, on Trade: Regulation, what analysis he undertook in order to come to his conclusion.
Answer: In order to assess regulations as they affect business, the department employs a number of methodologies and draws on data from a wide variety of internal and external sources. We have not identified any data gaps that limit the Department’s ability to as...
Answered 19 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordCourts: Digital TechnologyMinistry of JusticeTabled 8 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 104311More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will take steps with HM Courts and Tribunals Service to ensure that courts can accept attachments of more than 20 megabytes in size from plaintiffs and defendants.
Answer: New digital systems developed by HM Courts & Tribunals Service during the Reform Programme, are already of sufficient size to cater for most documents that need to be uploaded during proceedings. Limits are currently 1GB for documents and 500MB for mu...
Answered 13 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordTrade Barriers: RegulationDepartment for Business and TradeTabled 8 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 104310More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what mechanisms his Department uses to collect feedback from businesses on trade barriers arising from domestic regulation.
Answer: The Department for Business and Trade has collected business feedback on domestic regulation through a business questionnaire and will continue to run the Business Perceptions Survey to gather quantitative data.
Answered 13 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordTrade: RegulationDepartment for Business and TradeTabled 8 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 104308More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment he has made with Cabinet colleagues of the potential impact of trade regulation on port congestion and throughput, broken down by port.
Answer: The Department for Business and Trade has not undertaken an assessment of the impact of trade regulation on port congestion or throughput at individual ports. The Department has not received representation from industry indicating that current trade regul...
Answered 13 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordImports: CustomsTreasuryTabled 8 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 104307More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate her Department has made of the proportion of import consignments that require remedial action due to documentation or compliance errors.
Answer: To address the dynamic nature of import risk, HMRC continually enhances its capabilities to identify errors and address non-compliance, ensuring that interventions are proportionate and targeted—rather than creating and relying on static estimates. HMRC’s...
Answered 13 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordTrade: RegulationDepartment for Business and TradeTabled 8 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 104305More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether his Department has identified any data gaps that limit its ability to quantify the cost of trade-related regulation.
Answer: No.
Answered 13 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordTrade BarriersDepartment for Business and TradeTabled 6 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 103468More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what performance indicators his Department uses to measure progress in reducing regulatory and administrative trade barriers.
Answer: Performance indicators the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) uses for market access are barriers reported, barriers resolved, and the potential value of opportunities associated with barriers resolved. During the financial year 2024-25, 394 barriers...
Answered 12 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordImports: Fees and ChargesDepartment for Business and TradeTabled 6 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 103467More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether his Department has assessed the cumulative impact of multiple regulatory charges and fees applied to a single import consignment.
Answer: No cumulative impact has been conducted, but Article VIII of the WTO General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade limits fees and charges in connection with importation to the approximate cost of services rendered. The UK has also consistently sought through it...
Answered 12 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordHospitality IndustryDepartment for Business and TradeTabled 6 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 103466More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, when the Hospitality Sector Council last met and when he plans to publish the minutes of the meeting.
Answer: I last met with the Hospitality Sector Council on 4 November 2025.The minutes of that meeting will be published on the Government’s website Hospitality Sector Council - GOV.UK in due course.
Answered 12 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordTrade PromotionDepartment for Business and TradeTabled 5 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 102899More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 5 January 2026 to Question 101496 on Trade Promotion, whether he plans to retain the role of International Trade Adviser as part of the strategic organisational redesign.
Answer: We are changing how we deliver export support in line with the Trade Strategy, and in response to the asks of businesses and our stakeholders. We aim to make this more accessible and easier to navigate and to use technology to deliver more cost-effective ...
Answered 8 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordDepartment for Business and Trade: EqualityDepartment for Business and TradeTabled 5 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 102898More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what evaluation he has made of the effectiveness of reverse mentoring programmes in his department.
Answer: DBT and its staff networks support a range of learning and development opportunities including a mentoring / reverse mentoring offer which is taken up on a voluntary basis. Feedback is encouraged from matched mentor/mentee pairs. Due to small numbers taki...
Answered 8 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordExports: Trade BarriersDepartment for Business and TradeTabled 5 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 102897More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many formal market access barriers impacting UK exporters were recorded by his Department in each of the last three years.
Answer: The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) has been publishing the number of reported market access barriers as official statistics since 2021. These annual statistics are also regularly published in the DBT annual report and accounts as indicators on de...
Answered 8 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordDepartment for Business and Trade: StaffDepartment for Business and TradeTabled 5 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 102896More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many full-time equivalent staff within his Department were assigned to trade facilitation and market access barrier resolution in (a) 2026 and (b) 2021.
Answer: The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) operates a flexible resourcing model to support trade facilitation and market access barrier resolution. The majority of this work falls within three areas: Economic Security and Trade Relations, Trade Group and...
Answered 13 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordAgricultural Products: UK Trade with EUDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 5 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 102895More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of (a) per-consignment fees and (b) inspection charges on the retail price of sanitary and phytosanitary goods imported
Answer: Under the Border Target Operating Model (BTOM), imported consignments of products of animal origin (POAO), and plant and plant products (P&PP), are subject to per-consignment requirements including health certification, pre-notification and inspection...
Answered 8 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordAfrica: BusinessForeign, Commonwealth and Development OfficeTabled 5 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 102894More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what the cost to the public purse was for the production of the Growth Gateway Masterclass on Fundraising in Africa.
Answer: Two masterclasses have been delivered using a catalytic model to build local capability, provide targeted expertise, mobilise investment, and support inclusive and sustainable growth. The training cost approximately £18,500 and has already delivered stron...
Answered 26 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordInvestment: AfricaDepartment for Business and TradeTabled 18 Dec 2025AnsweredUIN 101498More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if his Department will hold an African Investment Summit.
Answer: As set out in the Trade and Industrial strategies, this Government remains committed to strengthening UK-African trade and investment ties. According to the latest UNCTAD data, the UK had the second highest level of FDI stock in Africa at the end of 2023,...
Answered 8 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordExports: Trade PromotionDepartment for Business and TradeTabled 18 Dec 2025AnsweredUIN 101497More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what estimate he has made of the gross exports facilitated by the work of his Department's Independent Trade Advisers in the last period for which data is available.
Answer: In 2024/25, the Department for Business and Trade supported businesses to deliver over 2,700 Export Wins with a combined value of almost £24 billion. These successes were achieved through close collaboration across government and within the Department, in...
Answered 5 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordTrade PromotionDepartment for Business and TradeTabled 18 Dec 2025AnsweredUIN 101496More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many Independent Trade Advisers his Department plans to employ on 30 September 2026.
Answer: As in PQ16188, the Member seems to be confusing his terminology as we do not employ any ‘Independent Trade Advisers’ but do employ 140 International Trade Advisers. We are undergoing a strategic organisational redesign to ensure we are best positioned to ...
Answered 5 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordTrade PromotionDepartment for Business and TradeTabled 18 Dec 2025AnsweredUIN 101495More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many Independent Trade Advisers were employed by his Department on 30 September in each of the last 5 years.
Answer: Assuming that the Member has asked about ‘Independent Trade Advisers’ in error when he means ‘International Trade Advisers’, as of September 2025, the Department for Business and Trade employs 140 International Trade Advisers (ITAs). The table below prese...
Answered 5 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordBritish Steel: ScunthorpeDepartment for Business and TradeTabled 17 Dec 2025AnsweredUIN 101038More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, when he last received advice on the cost of decontaminating the site of the British Steel Limited Scunthorpe Steelworks in the event of decomissioning.
Answer: The Department received advice on decommissioning and land remediation costs ahead of making a generous offer of support in March 2025 to British Steel's current owner. The Government continues to consider all options in relation to the site at Scunthorpe...
Answered 5 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordFurnaces: ScunthorpeDepartment for Business and TradeTabled 17 Dec 2025AnsweredUIN 101037More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 17 December to Question 99540 on British Steel, when he last received advice on the cost of decommissioning the blast furnaces at the British Steel Limited Scunthorpe Steelwor
Answer: The Department received advice on decommissioning and land remediation costs ahead of making a generous offer of support in March 2025 to British Steel's current owner. The Government continues to consider all options in relation to the site at Scunthorpe...
Answered 5 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordDepartment for Business and Trade: EmbassiesDepartment for Business and TradeTabled 17 Dec 2025AnsweredUIN 101007More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if he will provide a list of the embassies and high commissions in which staff funded by his Department are based.
Answer: As set out in our Trade and Industrial Strategies, following the Spending Review, we are reshaping the DBT overseas network led by our HM Trade Commissioners so that it is as focused as possible on the markets, sectors and opportunities that will drive ec...
Answered 5 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordTrade AgreementsDepartment for Business and TradeTabled 16 Dec 2025AnsweredUIN 100662More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if he will make an assessment of the effectiveness of his Department’s international trade advisors for negotiating new free trade agreements.
Answer: The Member is confusing two separate roles. Our International Trade Advisors (ITAs) support businesses to sell overseas: they do not conduct trade negotiations, which are led by chief negotiators, who are senior DBT officials.
Answered 22 Dec 2025
Original Parliament recordMobile Phones: BatteriesDepartment for Science, Innovation and TechnologyTabled 16 Dec 2025AnsweredUIN 100607More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether she has plans to introduce a mandatory battery back up requirements for mobile network operators.
Answer: Residents in rural areas, as well as other areas of the country, rightly expect to have reliable mobile connectivity to participate in the modern digital economy. The Government recognises that events like storms and power outages can have a particular im...
Answered 5 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordMobile Phones: Rural AreasDepartment for Science, Innovation and TechnologyTabled 16 Dec 2025AnsweredUIN 100605More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps she is taking to improve the resilience of mobile networks in rural areas.
Answer: Residents in rural areas, as well as other areas of the country, rightly expect to have reliable mobile connectivity to participate in the modern digital economy. The Government recognises that events like storms and power outages can have a particular im...
Answered 5 Jan 2026
Original Parliament record
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