Written questions by Burghart.

Pursuant to the answer of 28 January 2026, to Question 107374, on Cabinet Office: Public Expenditure, whether regulatory costs imposed through implementation of EU laws in Northern Ireland, and the application of EU laws through dynamic alignment across the wider United Kingdom, would score towards the administrative burden of business.

The target to cut the administrative burden of regulation by 25% by the end of the Parliament covers the burden of central UK government regulation, whether this is to implement domestic or international commitments.

Whether Lord Mandelson played a role as Ambassador to the United States in the decision of HM Government not to impose tariffs on Chinese-made electric vehicles.

No.

What records his Department holds on the (a) meetings and (b) correspondence sent by Lord Mandelson when he was Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills.

The Department for Business and Trade do not hold any records on meetings and correspondence sent by Lord Mandelson as his mailboxes from his time as Secretary of State are held by Integrated Corporate Services (ICS) on behalf of the former Department for Business Energy, and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), who inherited the records of the former Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) and former Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR) following machinery of Government changes.

What the planned (a) commencement and (b) implementation dates are for each substantive policy provision of the Employment Rights Bill.

On 1 July the Government published the Employment Rights Bill Implementation Roadmap. The Roadmap provides clarity for employers and workers on how and when Government will engage and consult on the detailed implementation of Bill measures once it becomes law, and when measures will take effect. The Roadmap outlines several phases of commencement including following Royal Assent, in April 2026, in October 2026, and in 2027. As part of our Plan for Change we are working at pace to deliver on our commitment to Make Work Pay, engaging and consulting throughout to make sure we get the detail right.

With reference to his Department's press release entitled Business Secretary announces new DBT non-executive directors, published on 17 December 2024, if he will publish the correspondence to and from the Commissioner for Public Appointments to obtain permission to appoint Nita Clarke without open competition.

I fully respect the principles of public appointments and the Governance Code for Public Appointments was fully adhered to in this process: the rationale for appointing without competition was made public at the time of announcement, following consultation with the Commissioner, and there is no requirement under the Code to publish this correspondence. A fair and open competition was undertaken with a strong field of applications. However, it needed to be strengthened further by the appointment of Nita Clarke, who is bringing vital skills in employee engagement, partnership and employee voices in the workplace drawn from a long and distinguished career including as Vice President for Employee Relations at the Chartered Institute of Personnel Development.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of the imposition of tariffs by the European Union on the United States on levels of trade between the United States and (a) the UK, (b) Great Britain and (c) Northern Ireland.

As we've said previously, we champion free and open trade and will continue to work with our international partners to establish this.We will continue to monitor any further developments, and we will always do what is in the national interest for our economy, businesses and the British people across Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

With reference to the letter of 30 September 2024 from the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster letter to the Senior Salaries Review Body, when the Office for Pay Review Bodies was set up.

The Office of Manpower Economics was set up in 1971. Its name was changed to the Office for the Pay Review Bodies on 1 October 2024, to reflect better the role of the organisation.