Written questions by Baldwin.

What discussions he has had with businesses on the potential impact of the Employment Rights Act on (a) the number of entry level jobs, (b) the number of part time roles and (c) the overall workforce headcount.

Awaiting answer.

What assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of guaranteed hours provisions on (a) access to entry level employment and (b) labour market flexibility.

Awaiting answer.

What his planned upper limit is for (a) overall contributions and (b) annual contributions from the public purse for support for the UK steel industry.

The government is committed to providing up to £2.5 billion to support the UK steel industry, which is being delivered in part through the National Wealth Fund and in part through direct support for companies. This is in addition to the £500 million investment for Tata Steel in Port Talbot, bringing the total investment in the steel industry to up to £3 billion. The £3 billion is intended for initiatives such as electric arc furnaces and other improvements to UK capabilities. The annual allocation of these funds will depend on ministerial decisions and on companies meeting delivery milestones.

Whether his Department has determined a (a) budget, (b) repayment schedule and (c) end date for its intervention in British Steel.

Budgets for British Steel are subject to the usual government approvals processes and ministerial decisions. All support for British Steel has been drawn from existing HMG budgets, with no additional borrowing required. Funding provided to British Steel Limited is recoverable as a debt owed to the Crown. Recoverability of this debt will be further assessed at year-end, and the resulting treatment will be reflected and published in the Department for Business and Trade’s accounts for 2025-26. We continue to work with Jingye to find a pragmatic, realistic solution for the future of BSL.

Whether he plans to publish an Impact Assessment for the UK Steel Strategy.

We continue to engage with industry and other stakeholders as we move into the delivery phase of the steel strategy, following its publication on the 19 March. This includes work to implement the new trade defence measure ahead of the 1 July. The publication of any further information will be considered as this progresses. The steel strategy reaffirms the government’s commitment to spend up to £2.5 billion on the steel sector. Building on the direct support provided so far, the National Wealth Fund will be the main mechanism for providing finance for investment in the steel sector. It is actively seeking engagement with steel firms for strong, investible projects. Allocations are subject to the usual government approvals processes and ministerial decisions. All support for the steel sector has been drawn from existing government budgets, with no additional borrowing or trade-offs required.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of steel tariffs on inflation.

The UK’s steel industry is fundamental to UK manufacturing, the UK’s critical national infrastructure and defence. Steel overcapacity is distorting markets, artificially driving down prices and threatening the viability of our already fragile domestic steelmaking sector – which has more than halved in the last decade.Our aim is to strike the right balance: while the measure aims to ensure continued viability of UK steel production, we have considered the impact of supply for downstream sectors in the design of this measure.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of steel tariffs on the number of jobs in UK manufacturing sectors.

Steel is essential for a modern economy such as the UK, underpinning key industries from construction to advanced manufacturing and defence. The trade measure introduced on 19 March aims to address critical global steel overcapacity challenges that threaten the viability of UK steelmaking, which supports approximately 40,000 direct jobs and 61,000 upstream supply chain jobs. From 1 July 2026, reduced import quotas with 50% tariffs on imports once quotas are exceeded will protect domestic production capacity, helping secure these high-quality UK steelmaking jobs that pay on average 32% above local wages.

What recent progress his Department has made in its negotiations with Jingye over British Steel.

There are approximately 3,000 workers at British Steel’s Scunthorpe site. British Steel remains owned by Jingye and HM Government’s powers to intervene under the Steel Industry (Special Measures) Act 2025 are designed to maintain steelmaking and avoid a disorderly closure of the blast furnaces.We are in discussions with the owner, which remain confidential, to find a pragmatic and realistic solution.

What estimate he has made of the value of British Steel.

There are approximately 3,000 workers at British Steel’s Scunthorpe site. British Steel remains owned by Jingye and HM Government’s powers to intervene under the Steel Industry (Special Measures) Act 2025 are designed to maintain steelmaking and avoid a disorderly closure of the blast furnaces.We are in discussions with the owner, which remain confidential, to find a pragmatic and realistic solution.

Whether other departmental budget lines are being reduced to fund the UK Steel Strategy.

We continue to engage with industry and other stakeholders as we move into the delivery phase of the steel strategy, following its publication on the 19 March. This includes work to implement the new trade defence measure ahead of the 1 July. The publication of any further information will be considered as this progresses. The steel strategy reaffirms the government’s commitment to spend up to £2.5 billion on the steel sector. Building on the direct support provided so far, the National Wealth Fund will be the main mechanism for providing finance for investment in the steel sector. It is actively seeking engagement with steel firms for strong, investible projects. Allocations are subject to the usual government approvals processes and ministerial decisions. All support for the steel sector has been drawn from existing government budgets, with no additional borrowing or trade-offs required.

How long he plans to keep a blast furnace at Scunthorpe.

There are approximately 3,000 workers at British Steel’s Scunthorpe site. British Steel remains owned by Jingye and HM Government’s powers to intervene under the Steel Industry (Special Measures) Act 2025 are designed to maintain steelmaking and avoid a disorderly closure of the blast furnaces.We are in discussions with the owner, which remain confidential, to find a pragmatic and realistic solution.

How many jobs at Scunthorpe are supported by the blast furnace.

There are approximately 3,000 workers at British Steel’s Scunthorpe site. British Steel remains owned by Jingye and HM Government’s powers to intervene under the Steel Industry (Special Measures) Act 2025 are designed to maintain steelmaking and avoid a disorderly closure of the blast furnaces.We are in discussions with the owner, which remain confidential, to find a pragmatic and realistic solution.

Whether he has made provisional allocations for the £2.5 billion assigned to the UK Steel Strategy.

We continue to engage with industry and other stakeholders as we move into the delivery phase of the steel strategy, following its publication on the 19 March. This includes work to implement the new trade defence measure ahead of the 1 July. The publication of any further information will be considered as this progresses. The steel strategy reaffirms the government’s commitment to spend up to £2.5 billion on the steel sector. Building on the direct support provided so far, the National Wealth Fund will be the main mechanism for providing finance for investment in the steel sector. It is actively seeking engagement with steel firms for strong, investible projects. Allocations are subject to the usual government approvals processes and ministerial decisions. All support for the steel sector has been drawn from existing government budgets, with no additional borrowing or trade-offs required.

What estimate he has made of tariff revenue from steel imports.

From 1 July 2026, steel import quotas will be reduced by 60% compared with the steel safeguard, with a 50% tariff on imports exceeding these levels.The purpose of the trade measure is not to raise tariff revenue, and therefore we have not made any estimates. Instead, it aims to protect UK steel-making, which is essential for our critical national infrastructure and defence. The Steel Strategy aims to restore us to a balanced approach between UK demand being met through imports and through domestic production.

What his policy is on reviewing Non Disclosure Agreements with external business groups.

Confidentiality Agreements (CAs) enable engagement with businesses on sensitive areas of live trade negotiations and broader policy development. The department does not require CAs for all external engagements; sensitivities and risks are assessed on a case-by-case basis. The department holds CAs with a range of businesses, civil society organisations and academia, supporting engagement across all sectors. These CAs last up to seven years and at the date of termination, stakeholders can decide whether to re-sign. The department's view is that CAs serve a clear purpose in supporting stakeholder engagement and protecting UK interests.

How many Non Disclosure Agreements his Department has in place with external business groups.

Confidentiality Agreements (CAs) enable engagement with businesses on sensitive areas of live trade negotiations and broader policy development. The department does not require CAs for all external engagements; sensitivities and risks are assessed on a case-by-case basis. The department holds CAs with a range of businesses, civil society organisations and academia, supporting engagement across all sectors. These CAs last up to seven years and at the date of termination, stakeholders can decide whether to re-sign. The department's view is that CAs serve a clear purpose in supporting stakeholder engagement and protecting UK interests.

Which organisations his Department has Non Disclosure Agreements with.

Confidentiality Agreements (CAs) enable engagement with businesses on sensitive areas of live trade negotiations and broader policy development. The department does not require CAs for all external engagements; sensitivities and risks are assessed on a case-by-case basis. The department holds CAs with a range of businesses, civil society organisations and academia, supporting engagement across all sectors. These CAs last up to seven years and at the date of termination, stakeholders can decide whether to re-sign. The department's view is that CAs serve a clear purpose in supporting stakeholder engagement and protecting UK interests.

With reference to the Companies House news story entitled Update on Companies House WebFiling security issue, published on 16 March 2026, whether his Department is aware of any other security breaches in relation to Companies House.

As an executive agency of the Department, Companies House manages its security risks against emerging threats and uses government compliant approaches for security and data protection. Companies House adopts a rigorous, risk management process aligned with government functional standards and its ISO 27001 certification. Based on information provided to the Department at this time, we are not aware of any other current security breaches.

When he plans to publish the Government’s response to the Future of the Post Office green paper consultation.

On 25 February, the Government published its response to the Future of the Post Office green paper consultation, which is available on GOV.UK.

How many staff in his Department are working on trade with Ireland; and how many he plans to have working on trade with that country in each of the next five years.

The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) is reshaping its overseas footprint to maximise UK economic growth in line with the Trade, Industrial and Small Business Strategies. Our future network will focus on priority markets and growth driving sectors across DBT objectives in trade policy, inward investment, tackling market access barriers, and supporting UK exporters.DBT staff overseas work flexibly across trade (trade policy, market access barriers and export promotion), inward investment, economic security and wider HMG objectives. As a result, we do not hold export promotion specific resources allocated separately by country or market. The total DBT overseas resource for the markets in questions will be roughly 470 FTE at the end of March 2026 reducing to a forecast roughly 420 FTE by March 2029. There are no forecasts beyond this point.We deploy our domestic trade resources flexibly, with delivery aligned to His Majesty’s Trade Commissioner (HMTC) geographic regions. As of January 2026, DBT has 1,396 FTE working on trade domestically (Trade Group and Economic Security and Trade Relations resource) reducing to 1,140 by March 2029.Planned headcount reductions in domestic staff over the Spending Review period will be managed through rigorous prioritisation; they do not translate into fixed, market-specific staffing levels.