Question follow-through · 51624

Working Hours

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the individual opt-out agreement under the Working Time Regulations 1998 on employee protections.

answeredDepartment for Business and Trade

About this written question

A written question asks a government minister for information in writing. Parliament publishes the question and any answer.

Answering body
Department for Business and Trade
Tabled
12 May 2025
Target answer date
14 May 2025
Answer
20 May 2025 · 8 calendar days after tabling

Elapsed calendar days describe the record timeline, not whether Parliament considers an answer on time.

More questions by this MP on Economy and business

Shared topic keywords suggest a connection; they do not establish a follow-up.

Votes on this topic

These Commons divisions share a topic label. The question did not necessarily lead to a vote.

Recorded timeline

  1. 12 May 2025

    Question tabled

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the individual opt-out agreement under the Working Time Regulations 1998 on employee protections.

  2. 14 May 2025

    Target answer date

    Date supplied by the official written-questions record.

  3. 20 May 2025

    Answer published

    A review of the impact of the Working Time Regulations on the UK labour market was undertaken by the Coalition Government in 2014. It found a decline since 1998 in the incidence of long-hours working despite the existence of the opt-out, and a general tre...

Open official record

Official data retrieved 28 Sept 2026.

Later records

Possible follow-up questions

Strong links require the same MP, department and exact heading. Other same-department questions are shown as unreviewed candidates, not as confirmed follow-ups. No debate link is asserted unless a stable source relationship exists.

Unreviewed candidateSame MP and department; topic relationship is unreviewed

Zero Hours Contracts

8 Jul 2025 · To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of employment protections for individuals engaged on zero-hour contracts.

Unreviewed candidateSame MP and department; topic relationship is unreviewed

Small Businesses: Overseas Trade

4 Sept 2025 · To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what strategic steps his Department is taking to protect (a) SMEs and (b) other UK exporters from the compounded impact of (i) new tariffs, (ii) customs charges and (iii) administrative burdens in the

Unreviewed candidateSame MP and department; topic relationship is unreviewed

Postal Services: Scotland

11 Dec 2025 · To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of (a) postal provision in Scotland, (b) postal provision in Mid Dunbartonshire constituency and (c) Royal Mail delivery services for time-sensit

Unreviewed candidateSame MP and department; topic relationship is unreviewed

Small Businesses: Coronavirus

23 Mar 2026 · To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of financial support available to people who lost their businesses during the covid-19 pandemic.

Unreviewed candidateSame MP and department; topic relationship is unreviewed

Small Businesses: Coronavirus

10 Apr 2026 · To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to the Answer of 27 March 2026 to Question 122950 on Small Businesses: Coronavirus, whether he plans to publish a Scotland-specific assessment of the adequacy of financial support availa

Unreviewed candidateSame MP and department; topic relationship is unreviewed

Ceramics: Energy

17 Apr 2026 · To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps his Department is taking to support the pottery and ceramics sector with industrial energy costs.

Unreviewed candidateSame MP and department; topic relationship is unreviewed

Digital Technology: Consumers

24 Apr 2026 · To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether he plans to review the Consumer Rights Act 2015 to protect consumers from losing access to paid-for digital content when support for (a) devices and (b) platforms is withdrawn.