Written questions by Griffith.

What assumptions his Department uses regarding cost pass-through to consumers when assessing the impact of new trade-related regulatory requirements on businesses, and whether those assumptions have been revised since the publication of the Department’s 2024 Green Book-aligned appraisal guidance.

Addressing regulatory barriers to trade can help reduce costs for UK businesses trading internationally and support economic growth. Cost pass‑through to consumers is subject to uncertainty and may differ significantly depending on market conditions, products and supply chains in scope. Reflecting the Green Book’s principles‑based approach to appraisal, which emphasises judgement and proportionality where impacts are uncertain, cost pass-through impacts are considered on a case‑by‑case basis where evidence indicates that they can be assessed.

If he will make an assessment of the potential impact of regulatory divergence from the EU on UK exporters since July 2024, broken down by sector and by firm size.

No, we will not be making such a precise assessment, but the EU is our closest partner and biggest trading market and we are committed to making trade easier by removing unnecessary barriers to trade. To date, many UK regulations continue to align in the main with EU regulations. We are aware that EU divergence is an important issue for many UK exporters to the EU. We continue to monitor potential instances of divergence and undertake assessments on a case-by-case basis.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact on domestic British glass manufactures as a result of the decision by UK Export Finance to finance £100m for a new bottle plant in Belgium.

In its role as the UK’s export credit agency, UK Export Finance (UKEF) provided a loan guarantee on commercial terms that will enable UK companies to supply goods and services to the Belgian bottle plant. Through this guaranteed loan, UKEF is supporting Tecoglas Limited, a Sheffield based company, which will export two glass furnaces and is expected to back a further 15 UK SMEs in its supply chain, helping to secure and support UK jobs.

Pursuant to the answer of 5 January 2026 to Question 101037 on Furnaces: Scunthorpe, if he will publish that advice.

The Government does not intend to publish the findings of the independent advice as it is commercially sensitive.

Pursuant to the Answer of 19 January 2026 to Question 105799 on Trade: Regulation, whether his Department plans to review the methodological approaches used to estimate the potential value associated with the (a) imposition and (b) removal of market access barriers.

The different methodologies used by the department are under constant review. We publish updates on changes if and when changes are made.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of the 10% tariff announced by the USA and the 25% tariff proposed from June on British businesses.

Having retained our cool-headed approach and robustly defended the rights of the people of Greenland and the kingdom of Denmark alone to determine their future, we are glad that the President has announced that these tariffs will not be proceeding.

Whether he plans to carry out further consultations on section 68 of the Employment Rights Act 2025.

Before section 68 is brought into force, the Employment Rights Act 2025 requires the Government to consider the impact of non-postal balloting on participation in industrial action ballots and lay a statement before Parliament setting out how regard has been given to any impact. The Government will undertake this requirement once electronic balloting has been established.

Whether he has had discussions with the American ambassador on tariffs.

The Prime Minister spoke to President Trump on 18 January. DBT Ministers and officials are in regular contact with all levels of the US Administration. Although I attended an event with the American Ambassador celebrating our shared trade, when we talked about a variety of subjects, including rugby, I have not specifically spoken to him about tariffs.

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.

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 assess regulations. For example, in order to estimate the benefits of removing trade-related barriers facing UK exporters, the Department uses a methodology which is published on Gov.UK and continuously reviewed to ensure that it remains effective and proportionate, including consideration of any data challenges.

Pursuant to the Answer of 13 January 2026 to Question 104310, on Trade Barriers: Regulation, whether he intends to publish the results of the most recent business questionnaire on domestic regulation.

On 21 October 2025, the Government launched a business questionnaire, ‘Unlocking Business: reform driven by you’, to gather feedback from UK businesses to identify outdated, duplicative, or disproportionate regulations and regulatory practices that hinder growth and innovation. The questionnaire concluded on 16 December 2025, and the responses are now being analysed by officials in the Department for Business and Trade. These will help to inform our Regulation for Growth programme going forward and we will publish our overall findings in due course

What mechanisms his Department uses to collect feedback from businesses on trade barriers arising from domestic regulation.

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.

Whether his Department has identified any data gaps that limit its ability to quantify the cost of trade-related regulation.

No.

What assessment he has made with Cabinet colleagues of the potential impact of trade regulation on port congestion and throughput, broken down by port.

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 regulation is having a material impact on port congestion, noting that for many DBT-led goods regulations, compliance is monitored behind the border rather than at ports.

Whether his Department has assessed the cumulative impact of multiple regulatory charges and fees applied to a single import consignment.

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 its FTAs to limit the fees and charges that can be applied to imports. For example, the UK-India FTA commits both Parties to not require consular transactions in connection with the import of a good The UK’s Trade Strategy set out the government’s plans to reduce costs and administrative burdens for traders, making clear our commitment to not only meet but where possible exceed our international commitments.

What performance indicators his Department uses to measure progress in reducing regulatory and administrative trade barriers.

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 were reported and 129 barriers were fully resolved. The aggregate valuation of these fully resolved barriers is estimated to be worth around £10 billion to UK businesses over five years. These statistics exclude partially resolved barriers and barriers that were resolved as part of UK Free Trade Agreements with other countries. Performance indicators can be found in official statistics here and annually in the DBT Annual Report and Accounts.

When the Hospitality Sector Council last met and when he plans to publish the minutes of the meeting.

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.

What evaluation he has made of the effectiveness of reverse mentoring programmes in his department.

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 taking up reverse mentoring, there is no robust evaluation of effectiveness.

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.

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 and impactful support.This change process is ongoing, so we are unable to confirm final job roles at this stage.

How many formal market access barriers impacting UK exporters were recorded by his Department in each of the last three years.

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 departmental performance. These barriers are recorded on DBT’s internal database called Digital Market Access Service (DMAS). During the last three financial years, 394 market access barriers were reported in the financial year ending (FYE) 2025, 287 were reported in the FYE 2024 and 311 market access barriers were reported in the FYE 2023. These statistics could be found here.

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.

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 DBTs Overseas Network. The total Civil Servant on-payroll FTE for these areas was 1,565 in November 2025, which is the latest data available (for DBT), and 1,006 in December 2021 (for DIT only).Not all the Civil Servants identified are assigned exclusively to trade facilitation and market access barrier resolution and carry out additional duties that are unrelated to those topics.