Written questions by Baldwin.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of additional trade barriers between the United States and Canada on the UK economy.

On 4 February, President Trump agreed to hold off imposing all tariffs on Canada and Mexico for 30 days, following calls with Prime Minister Trudeau and President Sheinbaum. We will continue to monitor any further developments, including through discussions with counterparts, and we will always do what is in the national interest for our economy, businesses and the British people.

What recent discussions (a) he, (b) Ministers and (c) officials in his Department have had with the Canadian Government on a potential UK-Canada trade deal.

The Secretary of State met with his Canadian counterpart Trade Minister Mary Ng at the G7 in July last year; they discussed the paused bilateral FTA and agreed that senior officials should begin discussions to see what it might take to resume negotiations.I have met with Minister Ng twice since then, including in Vancouver last November where we agreed that senior officials should continue these discussions, which are ongoing. Meanwhile, the UK-Canada Trade Continuity Agreement remains in force, underpinning approximately £27 billion in bilateral trade.

What discussions (a) he, (b) ministers in his Department and (c) officials in his Department have had with counterparts in Mexico regarding on the potential impact of additional US-Mexico trade barriers on UK trade.

On 4 February, President Trump agreed to hold off imposing all tariffs on Canada and Mexico for 30 days, following calls with Prime Minister Trudeau and President Sheinbaum. We will continue to monitor any further developments, including through discussions with counterparts, and we will always do what is in the national interest for our economy, businesses and the British people.

What discussions (a) he, (b) ministers in his Department and (c) officials in his Department have had with counterparts in Canada on the impact of additional US-Canada trade barriers on UK trade.

On 4 February, President Trump agreed to hold off imposing all tariffs on Canada and Mexico for 30 days, following calls with Prime Minister Trudeau and President Sheinbaum. We will continue to monitor any further developments, including through discussions with counterparts, and we will always do what is in the national interest for our economy, businesses and the British people.

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.

Whether the new lower employers' National Insurance threshold applies to retained fire crews.

To repair the public finances and help raise the revenue required to increase funding for public services, the government has taken the difficult decision to increase employer National Insurance. The rate of employer NICs will increase from 13.8% to 15% and the per-employee threshold at which employers start to pay National Insurance (the Secondary Threshold) will be reduced to £5,000.At the provisional Local Government Finance Settlement, the government announced an additional £515 million of support for local government to manage the impact of changes to employer NICs announced at the Autumn Budget. Fire and rescue authorities will receive a share of the overall funding provided to local government. Payments will be unringfenced to allow funding to be used across direct, commissioned, and externally provided local services.

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.

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 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, 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 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.

Pursuant to the Answer of 23 January 2024 to Question 24423 on Employers' Contributions, how many and what proportion of the employers that will see a change in their employer National Insurance have (a) one, (b) two, (c) three, (d) four and (e) more than five employees.

As is the case with all tax policies, the Government has published a detailed assessment of the policy in the Tax Information and Impact Note (TIIN). This includes impacts on the exchequer, the economy, individuals, households and families, equalities, businesses including civil society organisations, and details on monitoring and evaluation. The TIIN can be found below:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/changes-to-the-class-1-national-insurance-contributions-secondary-threshold-the-secondary-class-1-national-insurance-contributions-rate-and-the-empl The Tax Information and Impact Note sets out that around 250,000 employers will see their Secondary Class 1 NICs liability decrease and around 940,000 will see it increase. Around 820,000 employers will see no change. Information on employers listed is not available as we do not hold the breakdown requested by employer size.

Pursuant to the Answer of 23 January 2024 to Question 24423 on Employers' Contributions, how many and what proportion of the 865,000 employers listed have (a) one, (b) two, (c) three, (d) four and (e) more than five employees.

As is the case with all tax policies, the Government has published a detailed assessment of the policy in the Tax Information and Impact Note (TIIN). This includes impacts on the exchequer, the economy, individuals, households and families, equalities, businesses including civil society organisations, and details on monitoring and evaluation. The TIIN can be found below:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/changes-to-the-class-1-national-insurance-contributions-secondary-threshold-the-secondary-class-1-national-insurance-contributions-rate-and-the-empl The Tax Information and Impact Note sets out that around 250,000 employers will see their Secondary Class 1 NICs liability decrease and around 940,000 will see it increase. Around 820,000 employers will see no change. Information on employers listed is not available as we do not hold the breakdown requested by employer size.

Pursuant to the Answer of 23 January 2024 to Question 24423 on Employers' Contributions, how many and what proportion of the half of employers that will see no change have (a) one, (b) two, (c) three, (d) four and (e) more than five employees.

As is the case with all tax policies, the Government has published a detailed assessment of the policy in the Tax Information and Impact Note (TIIN). This includes impacts on the exchequer, the economy, individuals, households and families, equalities, businesses including civil society organisations, and details on monitoring and evaluation. The TIIN can be found below:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/changes-to-the-class-1-national-insurance-contributions-secondary-threshold-the-secondary-class-1-national-insurance-contributions-rate-and-the-empl The Tax Information and Impact Note sets out that around 250,000 employers will see their Secondary Class 1 NICs liability decrease and around 940,000 will see it increase. Around 820,000 employers will see no change. Information on employers listed is not available as we do not hold the breakdown requested by employer size.

Pursuant to the Answer of 23 January 2024 to Question 24423 on Employers' Contributions, if she will provide disaggregated cost figures for the hospitality sector for the same period of time.

As is the case with all tax policies, the Government has published a detailed assessment of the policy in the Tax Information and Impact Note (TIIN). This includes impacts on the exchequer, the economy, individuals, households and families, equalities, businesses including civil society organisations, and details on monitoring and evaluation. The TIIN can be found below:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/changes-to-the-class-1-national-insurance-contributions-secondary-threshold-the-secondary-class-1-national-insurance-contributions-rate-and-the-empl The Tax Information and Impact Note sets out that around 250,000 employers will see their Secondary Class 1 NICs liability decrease and around 940,000 will see it increase. Around 820,000 employers will see no change. Information on employers listed is not available as we do not hold the breakdown requested by employer size.

Pursuant to the Answer of 23 January 2024 to Question 24423 on Employers' Contributions, if she will provide disaggregated cost figures for the retail sector for the same period.

As is the case with all tax policies, the Government has published a detailed assessment of the policy in the Tax Information and Impact Note (TIIN). This includes impacts on the exchequer, the economy, individuals, households and families, equalities, businesses including civil society organisations, and details on monitoring and evaluation. The TIIN can be found below:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/changes-to-the-class-1-national-insurance-contributions-secondary-threshold-the-secondary-class-1-national-insurance-contributions-rate-and-the-empl The Tax Information and Impact Note sets out that around 250,000 employers will see their Secondary Class 1 NICs liability decrease and around 940,000 will see it increase. Around 820,000 employers will see no change. Information on employers listed is not available as we do not hold the breakdown requested by employer size.

Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the Environment Agency's National Assessment of Flood Risk, published in December 2024, whether he plans to request an 88% increase in the budget for flood defences for the Comprehensive Spending Review.

The Environment Agency’s (EA) National Assessment of Flood risk report is not directly comparable with previous assessments due to improvements in modelling. Protecting communities around the country from flooding is one of the Secretary of State’s five core priorities. This Government will invest £2.4 billion in 2024/25 and 2025/26 to improve flood resilience by maintaining, repairing and building flood defences. Longer term funding decisions will be made at the next Spending Review.

Whether their Department offers its staff shared parental leave from their first working day.

Shared parental leave is not offered as standard from the first working day for the Department’s employees. The Civil Service Management Code states that shared parental leave may only be granted in accordance with statutory requirements governing eligibility for this category of leave. However, some staff could qualify for statutory shared parental leave on their first day of service with a particular Department because they already have service with another Department.The Department complies with the United Kingdom’s law, which dictates that employees and their partners, with whom they share primary responsibility for the child, must have been employed by their respective employer for at least 26 weeks continuously by the end of the 15th week before the expected week of childbirth or adoption.As with any changes to employment legislation, internal policies and processes will be updated as appropriate in preparation for when the Employment Rights Bill 2024 comes into place.

Whether her Department offers its staff shared parental leave from their first working day.

The Ministry of Justice does not offer employees shared parental leave from their first day of employment.The Department’s shared parental leave policy aligns with the statutory provisions. To be eligible for leave, employees must meet the continuity of employment test, and the employment and earnings test set out in the Shared Parental Leave Regulations 2014.For the continuity of employment test, an employee must have worked for the same employer for at least 26 weeks by the end of the 15th week before their baby is due or their adoption match date.For the employment and earnings test, an employee and their partner must have worked for at least 26 of 66 weeks before the expected birth date or adoption match date.There are other criteria an employee must meet relating to sharing the caring responsibilities for a child.As with any changes to employment legislation, internal policies and processes will be updated as appropriate in preparation for when the Employment Rights Bill 2024 comes into effect.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether their Department offers its staff shared parental leave from their first working day.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) is committed to supporting its employees in balancing their work and family responsibilities. The FCDO offers Shared Parental Leave (SPL) to all eligible staff, providing them with the flexibility to share parental responsibilities from the very beginning of their employment.As with any changes to employment legislation, internal policies and processes will be updated as appropriate in preparation for when the Employment Rights Bill 2024 comes into effect.