Written questions by Griffith.

With reference to the comments by the Minister for Industry to BBC News on 6 November 2025, how opportunities to provide support to the steel industry will be chosen.

This government remains committed to delivering up to £2.5bn for steel which is being delivered in part through the National Wealth Fund (NWF). This is in addition to £500m for the Tata Steel transformation project in Port Talbot.The NWF has £5.8bn of capital to allocate across five clean energy and advanced manufacturing sectors, including steel. The NWF operates independently and is open to steel companies across the UK, offering a transparent and strategic route for investment that supports the government’s growth mission. We encourage any steel companies interested in seeking support to contact the NWF directly.

With reference to Written Ministerial Statement of 11 November on British Steel, HCWS1030, what proportion of the working capital provided to British Steel Limited to date he expects to be offset by revenues collected (a) to date and (b) by the end of this fiscal year.

To date, the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) has provided British Steel with £274m for working capital, covering approximately 33% of raw material purchases, payroll costs and other operating expenditure. British Steel revenues have funded the remaining 67% of costs. It is anticipated that the Government will need to make a similar contribution for the remainder of fiscal year. However actual sums are susceptible to wider macroeconomic factors and the ratio of British Steel revenue to DBT funding is therefore subject to change.Officials in my department, led by my Chief Strategic Business Advisor, have been in close contact with Jingye and were last in correspondence with them on 21 October. All parties continue to work at pace to find a pragmatic, realistic solution for the future of British Steel.An impact assessment relating to the Steel Industry (Special Measures) Act 2025 was submitted on 3 November. It will be published in due course following Regulatory Policy Committee scrutiny.

Pursuant to the Answer of 14 October to Question 77946 on Intestacy: Internet, what the timetable is for the review of the future publication of the Bona Vacantia unclaimed estates list.

The review into the future publication of the Bona Vacantia unclaimed estates list is nearing completion, and publication will remain suspended until it has concluded.

With reference to Written Ministerial Statement HCWS1030 of 11 November on British Steel, what meetings (a) he and (b) his ministers have had with Jingye since 14 October 2025.

To date, the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) has provided British Steel with £274m for working capital, covering approximately 33% of raw material purchases, payroll costs and other operating expenditure. British Steel revenues have funded the remaining 67% of costs. It is anticipated that the Government will need to make a similar contribution for the remainder of fiscal year. However actual sums are susceptible to wider macroeconomic factors and the ratio of British Steel revenue to DBT funding is therefore subject to change.Officials in my department, led by my Chief Strategic Business Advisor, have been in close contact with Jingye and were last in correspondence with them on 21 October. All parties continue to work at pace to find a pragmatic, realistic solution for the future of British Steel.An impact assessment relating to the Steel Industry (Special Measures) Act 2025 was submitted on 3 November. It will be published in due course following Regulatory Policy Committee scrutiny.

With reference to Written Ministerial Statement of 11 November on British Steel, HCWS1030, when he plans to submit the impact assessment to the Regulatory Policy Committee for scrutiny.

To date, the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) has provided British Steel with £274m for working capital, covering approximately 33% of raw material purchases, payroll costs and other operating expenditure. British Steel revenues have funded the remaining 67% of costs. It is anticipated that the Government will need to make a similar contribution for the remainder of fiscal year. However actual sums are susceptible to wider macroeconomic factors and the ratio of British Steel revenue to DBT funding is therefore subject to change.Officials in my department, led by my Chief Strategic Business Advisor, have been in close contact with Jingye and were last in correspondence with them on 21 October. All parties continue to work at pace to find a pragmatic, realistic solution for the future of British Steel.An impact assessment relating to the Steel Industry (Special Measures) Act 2025 was submitted on 3 November. It will be published in due course following Regulatory Policy Committee scrutiny.

How many NHS England staff have raised complaints on not having a suitable role following their raising concerns through (a) formal and (b) informal processes in each year for which information is available.

NHS England has no records of any staff raising complaints about not having a suitable role after having raised concerns through formal and informal processes.

How many NHS England staff who (a) have long term health conditions and (b) are considered disabled under the Equality Act 2010 have raised concerns about not having a suitable substantive role in the past 12 months.

NHS England has no records of any staff who have long term health conditions and are considered disabled under the Equality Act 2010 having raised concerns about not having a suitable substantive role in the past 12 months.

How many asylum seekers housed contingency accommodation in Horsham District are adult males not accompanied by family members; and what proportion of contingency accommodation locations in Horsham District house asylum seekers who are adult males not accompanied by family members.

Data on the number of supported asylum seekers in accommodation, including hotels, and by local authority can be found within the Asy_D11 tab for our most recent statistics release: Immigration system statistics data tables - GOV.UK.

When his Department's financial support for Jaguar Land Rover was made available.

The UK Government acted quickly to prioritise rapid support for Jaguar Land Rover’s operations, with a partial guarantee for a commercial loan, through UK Export Finance (UKEF)’s Export Development Guarantee.We are not able to comment on the detail of current transactions for reasons of commercial sensitivity.

What his planned timetable is for agreeing a UK-Gulf Cooperation Council trade deal.

The UK has been negotiating a modern and ambitious free trade agreement with the Gulf Cooperation Council to boost economic growth, raise wages, and increase investment since June 2022. Negotiations have now reached an advanced stage, with both sides working hard and at pace to resolve the remaining issues. As the Honorable Member should know, timetables can be counter-productive when seeking to agree a trade deal and can lead to perverse outcomes. We are focused on securing the right deal that delivers growth and offers real benefits to British businesses and investors, rather than getting it done by a specific date.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of the EU’s plans to reduce its tariff free steel import quota on the UK steel industry.

We are in active dialogue with the European Commission to fully understand the details of their proposal and next steps.The government is also working closely with UK industry, including through a roundtable with industry held on the 9 October, to understand potential impacts and solutions, and to assess how best to secure the UK’s supply chains in light of these developments.As ever, this government will always put the UK’s national interest first, and is committed to defending our critical steel industry, protecting skilled jobs and supporting economic growth as part of our Plan for Change. We reserve the right to take any action in response to any changes to our trading relationships.

When he plans to formally present the UK-India Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement to Parliament.

We will do so as soon as possible once the Trade and Agriculture Commission have provided advice on the agreement, which will enable us to produce the necessary Section 42 report, and trigger the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act process thereafter.

When negotiations on the double contribution convention with India will conclude.

In a side letter to the Comprehensive and Economic Trade Agreement (CETA), agreed in July 2025, the UK and India committed to concluding the negotiations to allow for the Double Contributions Convention to enter into force at the same time as the CETA.

Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make an estimate of the number of agricultural businesses that have been affected by the suspension of the Sustainable Farming Incentive in (a) West Sussex, (b) East Sussex and (c) Brighton and Hove.

Following the closure of the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) Scheme, the Rural Payments Agency re-opened the SFI 2024 offer to eligible farmers who had started but not submitted an application as at 11 March 2025, and those who were eligible under one of three exception groups.

Food and Rural Affairs, how many agricultural businesses in (a) West Sussex, (b) East Sussex and (c) Brighton and Hove received Sustainable Farming Incentive grants in 2024.

As of the 1st of January 2025, there were 32,200 Sustainable Farming Incentive agreements in England. This was made up of 25,300 agreements in the Sustainable Farming Incentive 23 and 6,900 agreements in the Sustainable Farming Incentive Expanded Offer. This includes agreements for agricultural businesses in West Sussex, East Sussex and Brighton and Hove.

How many officials from his Department were on site at British Steel Limited locations in each week since 12 April 2025.

There has been a consistent senior civil servant presence on British Steel's Scunthorpe site since 12 April, supporting British Steel's management team and providing oversight of public funds. The senior civil servants are supported on site by a range of staff from the Department for Business and Trade and UK Government Investments.

What estimate he has made of the cost to employers of disciplinary and grievance hearings taking place (a) with a worker's companion and (b) without a worker's companion.

Under existing legislation, we would not expect to see a difference in cost to the employer between a disciplinary or grievance hearing where the worker has a companion or does not have a companion. If the worker were to be accompanied by a trade union representative, the worker would pay for this through their trade union membership.

What the full terms of reference will be for the UK-China Industrial Decarbonisation Working Group.

The UK-China Industrial Decarbonisation Working Group will focus on accelerating decarbonisation of UK and Chinese industry, and identifying opportunities for commercial collaboration in relevant subsectors linked to industrial decarbonisation, such as CCUS.Further discussion on areas of focus will take place at the first meeting.

When the UK-China Industrial Decarbonisation Working Group will be operational.

Agreement to establish a UK-China Industrial Decarbonisation Working Group was an outcome of the Industrial Cooperation Dialogue between the Department of Business and Trade and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, which took place on Wednesday 10 September 2025.Discussions on scheduling the first meeting of the group are ongoing.

If he will make an assessment of the potential impact of limiting worker's companions in (a) disciplinary and (b) grievance hearings on non-trade union member workers.

Existing legislation aims to keep disciplinary and grievance procedures internal to the workplace. Expanding the right to be accompanied to professional bodies, including legal professionals, may reduce the prospects of amicable resolution, potentially increasing employment tribunals and therefore legal costs for all parties.The law already provides that workers are entitled to bring a companion who is either a colleague, an official employed by a trade union, or a workplace trade union representative. Employers can allow workers to be accompanied by a companion outside of this scope and some workers may already have a contractual right to do so.