Andrew Griffith MP: written questions 2025
210 published records · newest first.
Written questions
Investment: 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 recordUnfair Dismissal: CompensationDepartment for Business and TradeTabled 15 Dec 2025AnsweredUIN 100123More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment he has made of the cost to the a) private sector and b) public sector of abolishing the caps on unfair dismissal compensation claims.
Answer: The Government will be publishing an Enactment Impact Assessment on the impacts of the Employment Rights Act. This will include an assessment of the removal of the compensation cap for unfair dismissal on different sectors. This assessment can be found he...
Answered 18 Dec 2025
Original Parliament recordFurnaces: ScunthorpeDepartment for Business and TradeTabled 12 Dec 2025AnsweredUIN 99540More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what estimate he has made of the cost of decommissioning the blast furnaces at the British Steel Limited Scunthorpe Steelworks.
Answer: British Steel remains privately owned and estimated costs to decommission the blast furnaces is commercially sensitive information.
Answered 17 Dec 2025
Original Parliament recordBusiness Rates: Tax AllowancesMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 12 Dec 2025AnsweredUIN 99539More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 10 December 2025 to Question 97277 on Business Rates: Tax Allowances, if he will modify the Business Rates Information Letter (5/2025) sent to English B
Answer: The Business Rates Information Letter (5/2025) is already aligned with the Budget 2025: Retail, Hospitality and Leisure factsheet. On 15 December 2025, the government published the 2026 Supporting Small Business Relief local authority guidance which is in...
Answered 18 Dec 2025
Original Parliament recordImport ControlsTreasuryTabled 11 Dec 2025AnsweredUIN 99298More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate she has made of the proportion of UK firms that have undergone post-clearance verification processes in each of the last three years.
Answer: HMRC takes a risk-based approach to compliance, focusing on areas where there is the greatest risk of tax going unpaid. The number of businesses involved in international trade activities is published annually as the “Customs Importer and Exporter Populat...
Answered 16 Dec 2025
Original Parliament recordImport Controls: PricesDepartment for Business and TradeTabled 11 Dec 2025AnsweredUIN 99297More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of non-tariff measures to consumer prices on different UK Standard Industrial Classification groups.
Answer: The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) has not published a specific, comprehensive assessment detailing the potential impact of non-tariff measures (NTMs) on consumer prices across all individual UK Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) groups.DBT...
Answered 16 Dec 2025
Original Parliament recordBritish Steel: FinanceDepartment for Business and TradeTabled 10 Dec 2025AnsweredUIN 98917More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether the £274 million funding provided to British Steel has been allocated as (a) a grant, (b) a loan and (c) an equity injection; and what conditions regarding repayment have been attached to that
Answer: Funding is provided to British Steel under the provisions of the Steel Industry (Special Measures) Act, and is recoverable as a debt due to the Crown, as set out in section 3(6) of the Act. There are no conditions attached save the requirement for the fun...
Answered 15 Dec 2025
Original Parliament recordBritish Steel: CostsDepartment for Business and TradeTabled 10 Dec 2025AnsweredUIN 98916More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of maintaining British Steel's operations between 10 December 2025 and the publication of the Steel Strategy in 2026.
Answer: The Government is committed to supporting the UK steel sector and delivering a steel strategy, to be published in early 2026. To date, the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) has provided British Steel with £274 million as working capital and during t...
Answered 15 Dec 2025
Original Parliament recordBritish Steel: FurnacesDepartment for Business and TradeTabled 10 Dec 2025AnsweredUIN 98914More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what the average monthly cost to the public purse has been for maintaining the operation of British Steel blast furnaces since the special measures under the Steel Industry (Special Measures) Act 2025
Answer: To date, the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) has provided British Steel with £274 million as working capital, which on average equates to approximately £34 million per month. This funding has been instrumental in supporting British Steel’s operati...
Answered 15 Dec 2025
Original Parliament recordBritish Steel: FinanceDepartment for Business and TradeTabled 10 Dec 2025AnsweredUIN 98913More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how much of the £274 million provided to British Steel was for (a) raw materials, (b) salaries, (c) energy costs and (d) payments to supply chain creditors.
Answer: To date, a total of £274 million has been provided to support British Steel’s operations, with £173 million allocated to raw materials, £47 million allocated to payroll, and £22 million allocated towards energy costs. The remaining amount represents vario...
Answered 15 Dec 2025
Original Parliament recordArms Trade: IsraelDepartment for Business and TradeTabled 9 Dec 2025AnsweredUIN 98433More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, for what reason the suspension of arms sales to Israel is not listed on his Department and Export Control Joint Unit's official guidance.
Answer: The suspension of licences on 2 September 2024 was announced in a Written Statement to Parliament published by the then Secretary of State for Business and Trade and in the then Foreign Secretary’s Oral Statement on that date. The suspension was also comm...
Answered 15 Dec 2025
Original Parliament recordArms Trade: IsraelDepartment for Business and TradeTabled 9 Dec 2025AnsweredUIN 98432More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether he has made an estimate of the financial impact of the suspension of arms export licenses to Israel on British businesses.
Answer: We suspended certain licences for exports of military equipment on the basis of concerns of a clear risk of serious violations of International Humanitarian Law (IHL) in IDF military operations in Gaza. The UK remains committed to our wider trading relati...
Answered 15 Dec 2025
Original Parliament recordIsrael: Arms TradeForeign, Commonwealth and Development OfficeTabled 9 Dec 2025AnsweredUIN 98431More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she plans to consider resuming exports of defence equipment to Israel.
Answer: I refer the Hon Member to the answer given on 18 September to Question 72496.
Answered 16 Dec 2025
Original Parliament recordRoads: SafetyDepartment for TransportTabled 8 Dec 2025AnsweredUIN 97938More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when she will publish the road safety strategy.
Answer: The Government intends to publish the Road Safety Strategy this year.
Answered 11 Dec 2025
Original Parliament recordBusiness Rates: Tax AllowancesTreasuryTabled 4 Dec 2025AnsweredUIN 97277More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the answer of 4 December to Question 95961 on Business Rates: Tax Allowances, if she will modify the Budget 2025: Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Factsheet, published on 28 November, to reflect that the
Answer: No, I will not modify the Budget 2025: RHL Factsheet. It is correct.
Answered 10 Dec 2025
Original Parliament recordBusiness Rates: Tax AllowancesMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 1 Dec 2025AnsweredUIN 95961More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will modify the Business Rates Information Letter (5/2025) sent to English Billing Authorities on 26 November so that that the formula for the calculation of Transitional R
Answer: At the Budget the Chancellor announced a Transitional Relief Scheme and a Supporting Small Business Relief scheme – both of which help ratepayers that are seeing significant bill increases as a result of the 2026 business rates revaluation. The 2026 Suppo...
Answered 4 Dec 2025
Original Parliament record
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