Written questions by Baldwin.

What steps he is taking to to ensure the accuracy of his Department's headcount and payroll data.

DBT verifies headcount monthly through commissioning each business area to review employee records, check leaver processing and performs quality assurance to reconcile any data issues.DBT ensures accuracy of payroll data from our shared service provider (UKSBS) through monthly reviews and control account reconciliations. DBT also:monitors UKSBS’s performance against KPIs monthly and has representation on governance boards.ensures segregation of duties and approval/authorisation controls where we have administrative responsibility.undertakes comparative analytics and queries movements outside our understanding of operations.Submits Annual Report & Accounts to NAO, who sample-test payroll data and report any errors.

Whether he has met with the UK High Streets Taskforce.

Across Government, Ministers and officials meet with a range of high street experts. I have recently met with the Hospitality Sector Council and Retail Sector Council and visited Gateshead and Consett town centres.To mark Small Business Saturday, the Secretary of State visited Walthamstow High Street and Sunflour Café in Islington, meeting with the businesses which that make our town centres successful. We continue to engage with those involved in the delivery of the High Streets Task Force, which has now concluded, to learn the lessons from the programme.

When trade talks with India will commence.

Following a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Modi on 18 November, the Prime Minister announced that UK-India trade talks will relaunch in the new year.

With reference to his Department's news story entitled, Ministers tell business leaders they will be involved every step of the way in Make Work Pay plans, published on 3 September 2024 which (a) people attended and (b) businesses were represented at that business breakfast.

The Deputy Prime Minister and Secretary of State for Business and Trade were joined by officials, special advisers, and representatives from the following companies:Burberry, BT Group, Co-op, DHL Supply Chain, Haleon, John Lewis, Mace Group, Mars Wrigley UK, McDonalds, Octopus Energy, Sainsbury's, Whitbread.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of the Employment Rights Bill on small and medium-sized businesses.

On Monday 21 October, the Government published 24 Impact Assessments representing a comprehensive package of analysis on the impact of the Employment Rights Bill. These Impact Assessments are available at the following link: http://www.gov.uk/guidance/employment-rights-bill-impact-assessments. As per our Better Regulation requirements, each Impact Assessment includes a small, medium and micro business assessment, which discuss the potential impacts of the Employment Rights Bill.

When he plans to publish transparency data on ministerial (a) gifts, (b) hospitality, (c) travel and (d) meetings the third quarter of 2024.

The Department for Business and Trade releases data on Ministerial gifts, hospitality, travel and meetings on the transparency pages of gov.uk. The next release, for the period July to September 2024, will be released on a date to be determined by the Cabinet Office.

What assessment he has made of the adequacy of his Department's research on the EU Green Taxonomy Framework, published on 29 November 2024.

In November, the Department published research that it commissioned from the researcher provider, PUBLIC. This project was subject to robust procurement and contract oversight processes to ensure that it is was conducted according to appropriate methodologies. The report compiles the views of interviewed businesses and does not necessarily reflect the views of UK government.The government is currently consulting on whether a UK Green Taxonomy would be complementary to existing sustainable finance policies. Alongside the research, this consultation will inform an assessment of the value of implementing a UK Taxonomy, and how it could be designed as effectively as possible.

How many applications his Department received for the Second Permanent Secretary for European Union and International Economic Affairs role advertised in November 2024.

Applications have closed for the Cabinet Office Second Permanent Secretary for European Union and International Economic Affairs role. As was practice under the previous administration we do not comment on competitions underway.

Pursuant to the Answer of 6 December 2024 to Question 17621 on Stellantis, if he will publish the minutes of those meetings.

Minutes of these ministerial meetings cannot be released for reasons of commercial sensitivity. The Secretary of State gave a detailed account of his engagement with Stellantis during his oral ministerial statement on 27 November.

How many complaints his Department has received through its official complaints team between (a) July 2023 and July 2024 and (b) July 2024 and November 2024.

The Department received a total of 20 eligible complaints through its official complaints team between July 2023 and July 2024 and a further 11 eligible complaints between July 2024 and November 2024.

What assessment he has made of the impact of the Enhanced Trade Partnership between his Department and the Greater Manchester Combined Authority on the local economy.

The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) and Greater Manchester Combined Authority have developed an enhanced local partnership to target local and national support to identified high export growth potential businesses in the GM region. This was launched on 21st November and we expect to understand initial impacts on export growth after 12 months.

Where the Homebuilding Skills Hubs will be located.

Homebuilding Skills Hubs will be established by the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) and the National Housebuilding Council (NHBC) on a demand led basis, in areas where large scale homebuilding projects lead to a surge in demand. Locations will be confirmed over time. The Hubs will initially provide training for skills in critical demand for homebuilding, including groundwork, site carpentry, and bricklaying.

Food and Rural Affairs, what funding is available for individual property-level flood protection for frequently-flooded communities.

We are investing £2.4 billion in 2024/25 and 2025/26 to improve flood resilience by maintaining, repairing and building flood defences. Property level flood resilience measures can be funded as part of wider flood alleviation schemes. The list of projects to receive Government funding in 2025/26 will be consented over the coming months in the usual way through Regional Flood and Coastal Committees with local representation. Build Back Better offers householders up to £10,000 to add property level resilience measures, where it can be offered as part of a flood insurance claim, over and above work to repair damage and loss caused by a flood. We want to see 100% of the UK domestic insurance market offering Build Back Better.

Innovation and Technology, what recent progress has been made by Building Digital UK on the roll-out of Project Gigabit in West Worcestershire; and how many additional premises will be connected to full fibre broadband in that constituency by the end of 2025.

According to the independent website Thinkbroadband.com, 71% of premises in the West Worcestershire constituency can access a gigabit-capable broadband connection. As part of Project Gigabit, we are putting in place a contract to improve this coverage further. We plan to announce the details of this contract, including how many premises in Worcestershire will be in line to benefit, in early 2025.Once the contract is in place, the supplier will conduct survey and planning work to determine when premises in Worcestershire will receive a gigabit-capable connection. We anticipate that build will commence in 2025 and complete by 2030.

What steps he is taking to support the steel industry.

We inherited a situation which has seen years of entrenched under-investment. That will take time to turn around, but we are determined to do so. We are working at pace to deliver a Steel Strategy that will set out a long-term vision for a bright and sustainable steel sector in the UK, with good highly paid jobs.The Strategy will be supported by up to £2.5bn funding that will be available through the National Wealth Fund and other routes.

How many officials from his Department have visited (a) offices of and (b) facilities operated by British Steel Ltd in the last 30 days.

The Government has no plans to nationalise British Steel. We're working across government in partnership with trade unions and businesses to secure a green steel transition that's right for British Steel's workforce, represents a good investment for taxpayers and safeguards the future of the steel industry in Britain.I have met with British Steel's shareholder on 4 occasions since July. The most recent meeting was on 29 October.

What his policy is on renationalisation of British Steel Ltd.

The Government has no plans to nationalise British Steel. We're working across government in partnership with trade unions and businesses to secure a green steel transition that's right for British Steel's workforce, represents a good investment for taxpayers and safeguards the future of the steel industry in Britain.I have met with British Steel's shareholder on 4 occasions since July. The most recent meeting was on 29 October.

What meetings (a) he and (b) Ministers in his Department have had with the Secretary General of Unite the Union in the last 30 days.

Ministers have met with General Secretaries of many trade unions representing millions of British workers, including Unite the Union, many times since the 4th of July. This is part of this government’s regular engagement with union leaders to support our growth mission, including on multiple industrial issues neglected by the previous government

What meetings the Minister for Industry has had with representatives of British Steel Ltd in the last 30 days.

The Government has no plans to nationalise British Steel. We're working across government in partnership with trade unions and businesses to secure a green steel transition that's right for British Steel's workforce, represents a good investment for taxpayers and safeguards the future of the steel industry in Britain.I have met with British Steel's shareholder on 4 occasions since July. The most recent meeting was on 29 October.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of the Employment Rights Bill on the retail sector.

On Monday 21 October, the Government published a comprehensive package of analysis on the impact of the Employment Rights Bill. This is available at:http://www.gov.uk/guidance/employment-rights-bill-impact-assessments.The majority of employees will benefit from new protections in the Bill and our assessment finds that workers in the low-paying sectors including retail, infrastructure sectors such as transport and storage, and some consumer goods manufacturing (e.g. food-items) will benefit the most from the Bill. Our assessment suggests that the Professional Services sector is unlikely to be disproportionately impacted by the Bill.The Bill will also deliver wider benefits for the business environment by improving wellbeing, incentivising higher productivity, and creating a more level playing field for good employers. This could have a positive knock-on impact on productivity and growth.