Written questions by Griffith.

What meetings (a) he, (b) ministers in his Department and (c) officials in his Department have had with President-Elect Trump's transition team on a potential UK-US trade deal.

The incoming US administration is still in the process of appointing senior staff.The Prime Minister had a warm introductory call with President-Elect Trump on 6 November. During this call, the Prime Minister offered his congratulations and said he looked forward to working closely with President-elect Trump across all areas of the special relationship. The Prime Minister spoke to the President-elect again on 18 December. Neither the Secretary of State, Ministers, nor officials in the Department have had meetings with President-Elect Trump's transition team.

When he plans to respond to Questions 18414, 18415 and 18416 tabled by the hon. Member for Arundel and South Downs on 6 December 2024.

Questions 18414, 18415 and 18416 were answered on 19 December 2024.

How many (a) commercial and (b) non-commercial flights he has taken since 5 July 2024.

We can confirm that since 5 July 2024, the Secretary of State for Business and Trade has taken: 28 commercial flights1 non-commercial flight

How many (a) settlement agreements and (b) special severance payments with (i) current and (ii) former employees his Department has made in each of the last 12 months.

The Department for Business and Trade made no settlement agreements or special severance payments in the last 12 months for either current or former employees.

How many away days or off-site team building exercises his Department has arranged for officials in each month of this year; and what the cost of these was.

The Department for Business and Trade does not routinely collect this information. It could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Whether the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Employment Rights, Competition and Markets attended any of the meetings held by his Department with Stellantis.

I refer the member for Arundel and South Downs to the answer I provided to UIN 17527 on 6 December.

What steps his Department is taking to prepare for the potential imposition of trade tariffs by the US.

The Government has not speculated on what President-elect Trump may or may not do when he is in office. The Government will continue to make a strong case for open, transparent, and free trade. We are an open trading economy, and we benefit from that in our trading relationships other countries, including the US.

What steps his Department takes to monitor the productivity of officials when they work from home.

It is expected that every Department for Business and Trade employee has personal objectives aligned to their role. Performance is monitored regularly against these objectives, as part of ongoing reviews.

Whether he has had discussions with (a) the ONS (b) the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the Public Services Productivity Review.

The Secretary of State for Business and Trade has confirmed that no formal discussions have taken place with (a) the Office for National Statistics (ONS) or (b) the Chancellor of the Exchequer regarding the Public Services Productivity Review.

How many of his counterparts from G20 nations (a) he and (b) Ministers in his Department have met.

(a) Since July, the Secretary of State for Business and Trade has met with counterparts from 16 G20 nations .(b) The DBT ministerial team have met a total of 18 G20 nations.

What meetings he has had with representatives from British Steel since 11 November 2024.

We’re working across government in partnership with trade unions and businesses to secure a bright future for steel in the UK, including working with British Steel on their future plans. My Rt Hon Friend the Secretary of State has met with British Steel’s shareholder on 5 occasions in the last 5 months. The most recent meeting was on 29 October. Senior officials from this Department meet representatives from British Steel on a weekly basis.

Whether he has met with his counterparts from (a) Canada and (b) Mexico on the UK's accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership.

Ministers regularly meet with their counterparts to discuss a wide range of key issues. The Secretary of State met with Canada’s Minister of Export Promotion, International Trade and Economic Development, Mary Ng at the G7 and the G20. I met with Minister Ng at the ASEAN Summit in September and at the CPTPP Commission meeting in November 2024, where I also had the opportunity to meet the Mexican Under Secretary of Economy, Luis Rosendo Gutierrez Romano. We will continue to work with our Canadian and Mexican counterparts to push for ratification of our accession so that businesses can begin to reap the rewards of this trade agreement.

How many new businesses were registered on Companies House in each month since July 2024.

Official statistics on company incorporation are published quarterly. These are made publicly available online by Companies House. We have excerpted and reproduced the relevant figures for your convenience below:Monthly Incorporation VolumesMonthIncorporationsPublished Incorporations, QuarterlyJuly 202463,820 August 202462,956 September 202464,907191,683The most recent complete datasets can be found here:Incorporated companies in the UK July to September 2024 - GOV.UKStatistics for previous periods are available here.Companies House will publish the next quarterly release on 30 January 2025 which will cover the period from October to December 2024.

Whether he has had meetings with the prosecuting authorities in relation to the Horizon scandal since July 2024.

The information requested will be released in the next publication of the transparency return. The latest version can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/dbt-ministerial-gifts-hospitality-overseas-travel-and-meetings

What consultation was undertaken before publication of the (a) Fair Payment and (b) Disability Finance Code.

A new Fair Payment Code which is more credible, enforceable, and ambitious was launched earlier this month to replace the former Prompt Payment Code. This followed feedback from small business stakeholder groups, including Federation of Small Businesses, Enterprise Nation and others. The Disability Finance Code for Entrepreneurship has been led in partnership with founding signatories: Barclays, HSBC UK, Lloyds Banking Group and NatWest, alongside delivery partners, UK Finance and the British Business Bank. This forms part of the government backed Lilac Review led by Small Business Britain which is examining ways to address barriers facing disabled entrepreneurs.

How many applications for loans to the British Business Bank were made between July and November 2024.

Data from the British Business Bank’s Start Up Loans programme should be publicly available in 2025. Other loan applications for British Business Bank products are managed through delivery partners, such as banks, leasing companies, venture capital funds and web-based platforms.

What assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the minutes of the meeting of the Consultative Committee on Construction Industry Statistics on 28 October 2024, published on 2 December 2024.

The Consultative Committee on Construction Industry Statistics (CCCIS) is a long running forum for producers and users of official statistics on construction to engage with expert users. The meetings are chaired by the Department for Business and Trade, and include cross-government statisticians, representatives of industry bodies and academics. Information from discussions at the meeting in October will contribute to improving the reliability of official statistics on the construction sector and drive policy development, alongside engagement with key stakeholders and evidence gathering.

Whether he plans to update the guidance on the UK subsidy control regime.

The Department for Business and Trade keeps guidance on the subsidy control regime under regular review. The last substantive update to the statutory guidance was in December 2023 and the next update is planned for early 2025. The Department has also recently published two new guides to assist public authorities in completing subsidy control principles assessments.

How many searches have been made on his Department's subsidy database since July 2024.

The Department for Business and Trade does not have data for completed searches for this period. However, following recent improvements to the Department’s analytical capabilities, numbers of searches on the database will be available for periods starting on or after 1 December 2024.

Whether he plans to appoint any additional Special Advisers.

Currently, the Secretary of State has no plans to appoint additional Special Advisors.