Written questions by Anderson.

What steps her Department plans to take to ensure that education exports support institutions in Buckingham and Bletchley constituency.

The new UK’s International Education Strategy sets a clear ambition to grow the value of education exports to £40 billion a year by 2030. We are backing UK providers, at all levels, to deliver British education overseas in new and expanding markets, while driving growth at home. By expanding overseas, our universities, colleges and education providers from all regions can diversify income, strengthen global partnerships and give millions more students access to a world-class UK education on their doorstep, all whilst boosting growth at home. The new strategy urges UK providers to take advantage of the UK’s unique position and meet rising global demand for high-quality education.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of international education programmes on local employment.

The new UK’s International Education Strategy sets a clear ambition to grow the value of education exports to £40 billion a year by 2030. We are backing UK providers, at all levels, to deliver British education overseas in new and expanding markets, while driving growth at home. By expanding overseas, our universities, colleges and education providers from all regions can diversify income, strengthen global partnerships and give millions more students access to a world-class UK education on their doorstep, all whilst boosting growth at home. The new strategy urges UK providers to take advantage of the UK’s unique position and meet rising global demand for high-quality education.

What criteria will be used to select education providers eligible for international expansion support.

Through the UK’s International Education Strategy, we are backing UK providers, at all levels, to deliver British education overseas in new and expanding markets, while driving growth at home. Sector stakeholders will be central to the successful delivery of the new International Education Strategy. The reformed Education Sector Action Group (ESAG), chaired by Ministers, will bring together industry, government, and representative bodies from across the education sector to tackle key concerns and identify opportunities for partnerships. Each representative will lead on an action plan, published within the first 100 days of appointment to ESAG, outlining how their members will support delivery of the strategy.

Innovation and Technology, how her Department plans to ensure that public sector digital initiatives support communities in Buckingham and Bletchley constituency.

Our roadmap for modern digital government sets out how every corner of the state is using technology to make government work for the citizens it serves. It’s an action plan for the whole of the public sector, bringing together some of the most important products, platforms and transformation initiatives planned between now and 2030. Our commitments in the roadmap include strengthening collaboration between local authorities and central government, piloting local government services in the GOV.UK App and developing a strategic vision for local government technology. To deliver this work, we launched GDS Local in November 2025 - a new unit within the Government Digital Service that brings central and local government together to improve how digital public services are designed and delivered. GDS Local works with local authorities across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to support and accelerate digital transformation around key priorities which are set out in the Roadmap to a Modern Digital Government. This new unit has already engaged with over 300 local government digital practitioners and will continue to support councils across the country to ensure public sector digital initiatives support local authorities and the citizens that they serve.

What steps he is taking to ensure that regulatory reform supports access to domestic and international markets for scale-ups in Buckingham and Bletchley constituency.

Our Regulation Action Plan, published last year, included reforms to the regulatory system designed to unlock growth, boost innovation and reduce burdens across key business sectors. As part of this we will lift up to 51,000 companies from unnecessary reporting obligations through our modernising corporate reporting programme. New regulatory reviews will simplify and streamline rules, reducing paperwork, cutting duplication and supporting innovation. Export-ready SMEs and scale-ups looking to sell to the world can access DBT’s export support services which provides free, in-market support.

How the effectiveness of the growth package for scale-ups will be evaluated.

The growth package announced by the Secretary of State on 20th January builds upon commitments made in the Industrial Strategy. The departments and public bodies which operate the policies and programmes that make up the Industrial Strategy are responsible for conducting monitoring and evaluation of their policies. Further, the Industrial Strategy Advisory Council will oversee and provide advice in support of government to monitor and evaluate the Industrial Strategy as a whole. Government and public bodies will work with the Council to support this. The £25m BBB investment into Kraken Technologies and £100m in fund investments will be evaluated against the BBB’s core KPIs of Gross Value Added and portfolio financial return. UKEF’s support for UK exporters through high-street banks helps to unlock additional finance for high-growth exporters and contributes to their five-year business plan which sets out their ambition to support over 1,000 SMEs per year by 2029. As the department's Accounting Officer, UKEF's CEO is accountable to Parliament.

What steps his Department is taking to support SMEs to benefit from trade and investment opportunities under the UK-Indonesia Economic Growth Partnership in Buckingham and Bletchley constituency.

By 2030 Indonesia is predicted to be the 16th largest economy globally, and the 9th largest by 2050. Indonesia’s growing middle class, abundant natural resources and economic potential presents trade and investment opportunities for UK companies. The Economic Growth Partnership provides a framework to support opportunities for UK and Indonesian businesses of all sizes and locations.

What criteria his Department is using to identify regulatory barriers affecting high-growth firms.

The Department for Business and Trade engages regularly with stakeholders, businesses and their representative organisations to identify regulatory barriers affecting businesses, including high-growth firms. Last year we launched a business questionnaire ‘Unlocking Business: reform driven by you’ which gathered feedback from businesses to identify outdated, duplicative and disproportionate regulations and regulatory practices that hinder growth and innovation. In addition to this, officials also held discussions with businesses in all four nations of the UK across key, growth-driving sectors, to identify other regulatory barriers to growth. Going forward, findings from these will be used to inform our Regulation for Growth programme.

What mechanisms exist within the UK-Indonesia Economic Growth Partnership to tackle regulatory divergence affecting cross-border trade and investment.

The Economic Growth Partnership is a non-legally binding framework that will deepen cooperation between the UK and Indonesian Governments on areas of interest to our businesses. It is a signal of the UK and Indonesia’s commitment to grow our bilateral trade and investment.The Economic Growth Partnership will address non-tariff and regulatory barriers raised by UK businesses, establish a regular dialogue to resolve issues and deepen co-operation in areas of commercial interest to the UK, including clean energy, health and life sciences, financial services and the digital economy.

What benchmarks his Department is using to assess progress on regulatory co-operation on financial services under the UK-Indonesia Economic Growth Partnership.

The Economic Growth Partnership is a non-legally binding framework that will deepen cooperation between the UK and Indonesian Governments on areas of interest to our businesses, including in Financial Services.The Economic Growth Partnership reaffirms the commitment by Indonesia’s Ministry of Finance and HM Treasury to hold a programme of Financial Services Working Groups to deepen dialogue and cooperation on key issues of mutual interest. It complements our support for Indonesia’s application to join the CPTPP.A new Forum chaired by Indonesian and UK Ministers will monitor progress on activities set out in the Economic Growth Partnership.

What steps he is taking to co-ordinate with (a) the Chancellor of the Exchequer and (b) UK regulations on financial services engagement as a result of the UK-Indonesia Economic Growth Partnership.

The Economic Growth Partnership is a non-legally binding framework that will deepen cooperation between the UK and Indonesian Governments on areas of interest to our businesses, including in Financial Services.The Economic Growth Partnership reaffirms the commitment by Indonesia’s Ministry of Finance and HM Treasury to hold a programme of Financial Services Working Groups to deepen dialogue and cooperation on key issues of mutual interest. It complements our support for Indonesia’s application to join the CPTPP.A new Forum chaired by Indonesian and UK Ministers will monitor progress on activities set out in the Economic Growth Partnership.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of the UK-Indonesia Economic Growth Partnership on financial services firms seeking market access in Indonesia.

The Economic Growth Partnership is a non-legally binding framework that will deepen cooperation between the UK and Indonesian Governments on areas of interest to our businesses, including in Financial Services.The Economic Growth Partnership reaffirms the commitment by Indonesia’s Ministry of Finance and HM Treasury to hold a programme of Financial Services Working Groups to deepen dialogue and cooperation on key issues of mutual interest. It complements our support for Indonesia’s application to join the CPTPP.A new Forum chaired by Indonesian and UK Ministers will monitor progress on activities set out in the Economic Growth Partnership.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of regulation on scale-ups operating across multiple sectors.

We routinely engage businesses to get their views to assess the impact of regulation on businesses, including through our business questionnaire ‘Unlocking business: reform driven by you’ and our regular Business Perceptions Survey. Our Regulation Action Plan introduced a series of regulatory reforms designed to make the UK the best place to grow and scale and a business. Building on this, we are shifting the way we support our scale-ups to grow, as set out in the package of growth measures announced by the Secretary of State on 20th January.

What discussions she has with Mansion House Accord signatories on publishing firm-by-firm assessments of commitments made versus capital deployed.

The organising bodies of the Accord have committed to working with government and regulators to ensure that data demonstrating progress against the Accord will be tracked.

How many children taking up early years entitlements in 2026-27 in Buckingham and Bletchley constituency are projected to be from households in the bottom two deciles of income distribution.

The latest January 2025 statistics on Funded early education and childcare were published in July here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/funded-early-education-and-childcare/2025. Figures on the number of children registered for government funded entitlements in Buckinghamshire can be accessed here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/8be865c0-9f87-475e-9475-08de4155ee12. Statistics from households in the bottom two deciles of income distribution are not readily available, nor are figures at parliamentary constituency level. Statistics for January 2026 have a provisional release date on GOV.UK of July 2026.

What estimate he has made of the average start up costs incurred by first-time business founders in the UK.

The United Kingdom is one of the best places to start a business, boasting one of the highest business start-up rates in the OECD – 18.6 start-ups per 1,000 people in 2022. This compares to an average of 4.5 start-ups per 1,000 people across OECD members.The British Business Bank supports UK startups through its Start Up Loans scheme, offering fixed interest loans up to £25,000 per business owner.The British Business bank has published guidance which outlines the typical costs that a UK startup may face. This is available at https://www.startuploans.co.uk/support-and-guidance/business-guidance/finance/what-does-it-cost-to-start-a-business-in-the-uk

What progress his Department has made on the draft Audit and Corporate Governance Reform Bill.

The Department does not now intend to publish a draft Audit and Corporate Governance Reform Bill in this session of Parliament. Both houses of Parliament were informed of this in July 2025. Priority is being given to measures that reduce administrative costs for business, including through the Department’s work on modernising corporate reporting.

What assessment she has made of the impact of the indicative early years funding allocations on workforce recruitment and retention in early years settings.

The early years workforce is at the heart of the government’s mission to give every child the best start in life and deliver our Plan for Change. Our Best Start in Life strategy sets out how we are improving the quality of early education by investing in training and qualifications, increasing understanding of high quality practice and providing more access to proven, evidence-based early years programmes. The latest early years census data reports a 7.2% increase in the number of workers between 2024 and 2025, to 272,500 staff. This represents an increase of 18,200 workers and is the biggest increase we have seen since the data became available in 2018, likely driven by the expanded entitlements. We know from listening to the sector and our own regular research, that the cost of delivery is highest for younger children due to tighter staffing ratios and, consequently, higher staff costs, as staffing makes up the most significant proportion of provider costs. Our funding rates are set to reflect this with government funding rates for younger children remaining significantly higher than typical parent-paid fees. For 2026/27, the national average funding rate is £12.04 for under twos, £8.90 for two-year-olds, and £6.42 for three to four-year-olds, compared to average parent-paid fees from last year of £7.18, £7.09, and £6.78 respectively. Combined with the increase in hours through the expansion, these higher funding rates for younger children mean substantially more investment is flowing into the early years sector with an expected £9.5 billion being provide for the early years in 2026-27.

What comparative assessment his Department has made of levels of lending to (a) rural and (b) other businesses.

Bank of England data describes lending to different types of businesses, broken down by business size and sector. It does not provide regional breakdowns, which precludes comparing lending across rural and other businesses.The British Business Bank (BBB) administers access to finance schemes which support businesses across the UK, including rural businesses.In 2024/25, 84% of the businesses supported by the BBB were based outside of London.In 2025, the BBB agreed an ENABLE Guarantee with agricultural lender, Rural Asset Finance, supporting a portfolio of up to £120m to smaller rural businesses across the agricultural sector in the UK.

What analysis her Department has undertaken on the relationship between early years entitlement funding rates and levels of parental fees charged above entitlement hours.

The early years workforce is at the heart of the government’s mission to give every child the best start in life and deliver our Plan for Change. Our Best Start in Life strategy sets out how we are improving the quality of early education by investing in training and qualifications, increasing understanding of high quality practice and providing more access to proven, evidence-based early years programmes. The latest early years census data reports a 7.2% increase in the number of workers between 2024 and 2025, to 272,500 staff. This represents an increase of 18,200 workers and is the biggest increase we have seen since the data became available in 2018, likely driven by the expanded entitlements. We know from listening to the sector and our own regular research, that the cost of delivery is highest for younger children due to tighter staffing ratios and, consequently, higher staff costs, as staffing makes up the most significant proportion of provider costs. Our funding rates are set to reflect this with government funding rates for younger children remaining significantly higher than typical parent-paid fees. For 2026/27, the national average funding rate is £12.04 for under twos, £8.90 for two-year-olds, and £6.42 for three to four-year-olds, compared to average parent-paid fees from last year of £7.18, £7.09, and £6.78 respectively. Combined with the increase in hours through the expansion, these higher funding rates for younger children mean substantially more investment is flowing into the early years sector with an expected £9.5 billion being provide for the early years in 2026-27.