Written questions by Baldwin.

What recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Help to Grow Programme; and if he will publish the outcome for business growth broken down by the gender of business owners.

Longer term impacts on productivity can take 3-7 years to be measurable, however early findings show promising impacts. Over 90% of participants are satisfied with the programme and within 6 months of completion, most participants surveyed reported enhanced firm resilience, sales and cost savings. Early impact analysis on productivity is underway and future reports will address variations in productivity impacts by gender, should these arise. Evaluation findings on the early impacts of Help to Grow: Management are available on GOV.UK and the next release will be later this year.

With reference to the Written Ministerial Statement of 28 January on United Kingdom’s Trade Envoy Programme,HCWS392, how the countries to which United Kingdom Trade Envoys have been appointed were selected.

Trade Envoys enhance the value of HMG export and investment services already provided in a market. The following criteria are used to establish whether a market offers opportunities for a Trade Envoy to be effective; High growth and emerging market which attracts fewer ministerial visits; significant opportunities for commercial exploitation; where Government to Government relationships can open doors for UK businesses and whether there is appropriate DBT resource to support the Trade Envoy in market. Markets where there are no Trade Envoys such as the United States, Europe and India already receive regular high level ministerial visits plus have networks in place that maintain our relationship.

With reference to the Written Ministerial Statement of 28 January on United Kingdom’s Trade Envoy Programme, HCWS392, what the terms of appointment are for United Kingdom Trade Envoys.

This is a voluntary and unpaid role, and no remuneration is paid to the Trade Envoy. Each role is tailored according to the requirements of the respective market/s and will align with the Departmental priorities identified for those markets.

With reference to the Written Ministerial Statement of 28 January on United Kingdom’s Trade Envoy Programme, HCWS392, what funding has been allocated to support the (a) work and (b) travel of the newly appointed trade envoys.

The Department will be allocating appropriate funding in the new financial year to meet the costs of travel and subsistence for the newly appointed Trade Envoys when they travel overseas and in the UK, as well as any other incidental costs to fulfil their role. All costs incurred are subject to Departmental guidelines which apply to the programme’s use of public funds.

With reference to the Written Statement of 28 January on United Kingdom 's Trade Envoy Programme, HCWS392, whether any United Kingdom Trade Envoys appointed by the former Prime Minister are still in post.

Of the 32 Trade Envoys appointed, three are still in post from the previous administration. Many of the previous government’s Trade Envoys are no longer parliamentarians.

With reference to the Written Ministerial Statement of 28 January on United Kingdom’s Trade Envoy Programme, HCWS392, whether he plans to appoint any additional United Kingdom Trade Envoys.

There are no current plans to appoint any additional Trade Envoys beyond the 32 that were recently appointed.

How many construction businesses the Minister of State for Industry has visited since 4 July 2024.

Details of the meetings held by Ministers of the Department for Business and Trade are available on transparency pages of gov.uk and are released as part of the Government’s transparency agenda.However, I have attended events such as AtkinsRealis and Screwfix Live and also met with multiple Trade Associations and companies across the sector through my role as Co-Chair of the Construction Leadership Council, including Build UK, The Civil Engineering Contractors Association, The Builders Merchants Federation and Mace.

On what dates he has met with the Head of Business Engagement to the Chancellor of the Exchequer since 14 October 2024.

The Secretary of State for Business and Trade has met the Chancellor's Head of Business Engagement in the course of his ministerial role. The Department for Business and Trade and HM Treasury work closely together on delivering this Government's Growth agenda.

What underspends are projected in (a) his Department and (b) each of its arms length bodies in this financial year.

Final 2024-25 budgets for the Department and its arm’s length bodies will be confirmed through the Supplementary Estimate process. The Department has requested budgets at Supplementary Estimate that minimise underspends whilst enabling it to manage risks and the inherent volatility in its Annually Managed Expenditure and Financial Transactions budgets. Any underspends this financial year will be confirmed once the 2024-25 Annual Report and Accounts are finalised and published.

How many in-year awards were made to officials in his Department since 5 July 2024.

The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) operates a fully in year reward system for delegated grades and, like in other departments, has a non-consolidated performance budget that is derived from a percentage of the pay bill. In DBT, this is 1.3% and may be spent on cash or vouchers (up to a maximum of £2,500 per employee in any financial year).Between 5th July 2024 and 19th December 2024, DBT made 3,468 cash in-year awards (with a total value of £1,551,060) and 2,466 non-cash awards (with a total value of £190,648).

When the timing of the meeting of 18 December 2024 with the Indian Business Leaders delegation was agreed.

On 18 December 2024, a business delegation of 13 Indian companies met with the UK's Prime Minister and senior Cabinet Ministers in a curated visit to enhance the UK-India partnership.The delegation provided perspectives on opportunities for investment and economic growth between the UK and India and discussed opportunities under a UK-India trade deal. The timing of the meeting was agreed in the second half of 2024 and there is no intention to publish minutes of the meeting.

Whether (a) he, (b) ministers in his Department and (c) officials in his Department have had meetings with President-Elect Trump.

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.

What discussions he has had with the Prime Minister on the sectors in the scope of an India-UK Free Trade Agreement.

The Prime Minister is committed to delivering growth and opportunities throughout the UK, which a trade deal with India will support.Negotiating a deal with India will align with the UK's Modern Industrial Strategy, enabling our world-leading sectors to adapt and grow, as well as seizing opportunities to lead in new sectors.

What meetings for what purpose (a) he and (b) Ministers in his Department have had with representatives of the European Union since 5 July 2024.

Since 5 July 2024, the Secretary of State for Business and Trade has held meetings with Commissioner Dombrovskis on three occasions: an introductory call on 10 July 2024; a meeting at the G7 Trade Ministerial in Italy; and a meeting at the G20 in Brazil. On each of these occasions the Secretary of State underlined the Government’s commitment to reset our relationship with the EU.

What meetings for what purpose (a) he and (b) Ministers in his Department have had with representatives of the People's Republic of China since 5 July 2024.

The Secretary of State for Business and Trade met the Vice Minister of Commerce in the margins of the G20 trade summit in Brazil to discuss the UK-China trade relationship. The Minister for Employment Rights, Competition and Markets met the Vice Minister of the State Administration for Market Regulation in the UK to discuss competition issues.

If he will publish the minutes of the Indian Business Leaders delegation meeting of 18 December 2024.

On 18 December 2024, a business delegation of 13 Indian companies met with the UK's Prime Minister and senior Cabinet Ministers in a curated visit to enhance the UK-India partnership.The delegation provided perspectives on opportunities for investment and economic growth between the UK and India and discussed opportunities under a UK-India trade deal. The timing of the meeting was agreed in the second half of 2024 and there is no intention to publish minutes of the meeting.

Whether he plans to appoint Trade Envoys.

The Trade Envoy programme will continue and the House will of course be notified of any appointments in due course.

On what dates he has met with representatives of BMW since 5 July 2024.

DBT Secretary of State regularly meets businesses including those in the automotive sector. These meetings are recorded in publicly available transparency data on the .GOV web site under ‘DBT: Ministerial gifts, hospitality, overseas travel and meetings’ which is being updated to include meetings since July.

How many international trips Ministers in his Department have undertaken since 5 July 2024.

Since 5th July 2024, Ministers within the Department for Business and Trade have undertaken 22 international trips.

On what dates he has met with representatives of Nissan since 5 July 2024.

DBT Secretary of State regularly meets businesses including those in the automotive sector. These meetings are recorded in publicly available transparency data on the .GOV web site under ‘DBT: Ministerial gifts, hospitality, overseas travel and meetings’ which is being updated to include meetings since July.