Written questions by Baldwin.

With reference to the Written Ministerial Statement of 13 October 2025 entitled Volume 1 of the Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry report: Government response to recommendations, HCWS937, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that postmasters receive the benefit of the doubt in cases where evidence has been (a) lost and (b) destroyed.

The Government recognises the challenges some postmasters face in providing evidence, particularly where significant time has passed or records have been lost or destroyed. The independent panel assessing each case takes these difficulties into account when making its recommendations.As outlined in the joint statement made with the Post Office on 9 October, fairness requires acknowledging the absence of retained evidence, especially where it was wrongly withheld or destroyed. In such cases, and where it is fair to do so based on individual circumstances, postmasters should rightly receive the benefit of the doubt.

With reference to Volume 1 of the Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry report: Government response to recommendations, HCWS937, what steps he has taken to (a) assess and (b) compensate for non-financial losses including (i) psychological trauma and (ii) reputational damage.

Redress is available for both financial and non-financial losses. Across the compensation schemes, cases are assessed individually on their facts and in accordance with established legal principles. The losses compensated may include impacts on mental or physical health, as well as reputational damage.

With reference to the Written Ministerial Statement of 13 October 2025 entitled Volume 1 of the Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry report: Government response to recommendations, HCWS937, whether his Department plans to publish anonymised (a) case studies and (b) data to demonstrate how full and fair redress is being interpreted in practice.

The Department currently has no plans to publish anonymised case studies but may explore this in future. We do, however, publish monthly updates on redress delivery, which provide detailed insights into the number of claims received, offers made, and settlements completed.As highlighted in the statement on full and fair redress, published on the 9 October, fairness is assessed on a case-by-case basis, with a range of factors considered in the round and judged on their own merits. At the same time, the redress schemes aim for broad consistency in awards where claimants have experienced similar harm.

What contingency plans his Department has in place to mitigate disruption to UK-EU steel trade arising from changes to EU safeguard measures.

The Government is engaging with the EU on how their proposed trade measure will be applied to the UK, in a way which honours our Trade and Cooperation Agreement, the Windsor Framework and minimises disruption; we are reserving the right to take any action in response to changes to our trading relationships.We are developing UK steel trade measure proposals, taking into account UK interests in light of the rapidly changing global situation; and we are developing our steel strategy, to be published later this year, to create a more competitive business landscape.

What assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the European Union’s revised steel safeguard measures on UK steel exports.

We are in active dialogue with the European Commission to fully understand the details of their proposal and next steps.The government is also working closely with UK industry to understand potential impacts and solutions, and to assess how best to secure the UK’s supply chains in light of these developments. I held a roundtable with industry, including trade unions, on the 9 October.This government will always put the UK’s national interest first, and is committed to defending our critical steel industry, protecting skilled jobs and supporting economic growth as part of our Plan for Change.

Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to her Department's press release entitled Deprived communities to get new flood defences faster further to the announcement, published on 14 October 2025, how much funding her Department will allocate under the (a) new and (b) previous approach to (i) England (ii) the West Midlands and (iii) Worcestershire in 2025-26.

On 14 October, following consultation, the government announced major changes to its flood and coastal erosion funding policy. These changes will be used for the next flood programme starting in April 2026. The new funding policy will optimise funding between building new flood projects and maintaining existing defences and will ensure that deprived communities continue to receive vital investment. We will use government funding to unlock investment from public, private and charitable sources, making every £1 of government investment go further. We will also invest at least £300 million in natural flood management over ten years – the highest figure to date for the floods programme. The specific projects to receive funding in each year will continue to be decided through the Environment Agency's annual refresh process, which will be consented by Regional Flood and Coastal Committees. For 25/26 our programme of investment was published here: Programme of flood and coastal erosion risk management (FCERM) schemes - GOV.UK.

With reference to the Written Ministerial Statement of 13 October 2025 entitled Volume 1 of the Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry report: Government response to recommendations, HCWS937, what the estimated cost is of funding legal advice for appeals; and how he plans to ensure timely access to that funding.

My Department will start publishing legal costs associated with Horizon Shortfall Scheme Appeals as part of the quarterly legal cost publication on GOV.UK. The next legal costs publication is scheduled for early November. We work closely with legal representatives and encourage claimants to seek funded legal advice. We have processes in place to ensure prompt payment, provided guidance in the published tariff is followed.

With reference to Volume 1 of the Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry report: Government response to recommendations, what mechanisms are in place to monitor whether decision-makers are applying a generous approach within the appropriate range of compensation.

On 9 October, the Department for Business and Trade and the Post Office published a joint statement setting out what constitutes “full and fair” redress, following a recommendation from Sir Wyn Williams. This statement has been embedded in the guidance for each redress scheme to ensure that decision-makers apply a consistent and generous approach within the appropriate range of compensation. Each scheme also has an independent reviewer, who was consulted on the statement and plays a key role in monitoring its application and ensuring that decisions align with the principles of fairness and full redress.

With reference to the Written Ministerial Statement of 13 October 2025 entitled Volume 1 of the Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry report: Government response to recommendations, HCWS937, whether legal support will be extended to postmasters who accepted fixed sum offers; and how he plans to notify those postmasters.

In line with the Government’s response to Recommendation 9 of the Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry report, postmasters who accepted fixed sum offers under the Horizon Shortfall Scheme will be able to seek funded legal advice if they wish to apply for permission to appeal. My Department is working closely with the Horizon Compensation Advisory Board and the Independent Reviewer on the practical implementation of the appeals process, including its scope and criteria. We will engage with legal representatives and postmaster representative organisations on the process before it is launched. My Department will write to all eligible postmasters when the process is launched.

With reference to the Written Ministerial Statement of 13 October 2025 entitled Volume 1 of the Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry report: Government response to recommendations, HCWS937, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure that vulnerable postmasters are aware of the 31 January 2026 deadline.

The Post Office has contacted the vast majority of current and former postmasters who may be eligible for the Horizon Shortfall Scheme (HSS). Following the announcement of the scheme’s closure date, the Post Office will write to postmasters again to ensure they are aware of the 31 January 2026 deadline, in line with the Public Accounts Committee’s recommendation. This step is part of ongoing efforts to ensure vulnerable postmasters are informed and supported throughout the process.

With reference to the Written Ministerial Statement of 13 October 2025 entitled Volume 1 of the Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry report: Government response to recommendations, HCWS937, what his planned timetable is for concluding discussions with Fujitsu on their financial contribution; and whether he plans to seek binding commitments from that company.

The full extent of Fujitsu’s culpability for the Horizon scandal will only become clear once all volumes of Sir Wyn Williams’ Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry report have been published. In the meantime, the Department continues to engage with Fujitsu regarding their potential financial contribution.

What the terms of reference are for the UK-Canada Economic and Trade Working Group.

In line with the commitment made between our Prime Ministers in June, the UK-Canada Economic and Trade Working Group will meet this Autumn to deepen our trading relationship further, including to address existing market access barriers, to expand existing arrangements into new areas, such as digital trade, and to explore cooperation in the development of critical minerals and sovereign artificial intelligence infrastructure.

Who will be part of the UK-Canada Economic and Trade Working Group.

The UK-Canada Economic and Trade Working Group will meet this Autumn and will consist of officials from the UK and Canadian Governments.We remain receptive to any views of relevant business and industry with an interest in UK-Canada trade.

If he will make it his policy to place in the Library a copy of the report of the UK-Canada Economic and Trade Working Group.

Growing our bilateral trade is a shared priority. In line with the commitment made between our Prime Ministers in June, the UK-Canada Economic and Trade Working Group will meet this Autumn with the objective of deepening the bilateral trading relationship further and seeking to address existing market access barriers affecting bilateral UK-Canada trade. It will report back to the Prime Minister. I will keep Parliament informed of how the discussions progress.

Which Minister has responsibility for the Post Office.

Departmental Ministerial portfolios can be found at Department for Business and Trade - GOV.UK

Whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of inviting external stakeholders to provide information for the UK-Canada Economic and Trade Working Group’s consideration of market access barriers.

In line with the commitment made between our Prime Ministers in June, the UK-Canada Economic and Trade Working Group will meet this Autumn with the objective of deepening the bilateral trading relationship further and seeking to address existing market access barriers affecting bilateral UK-Canada trade.As part of our preparation for the Working Group, my department is considering feedback from a range of stakeholders to inform our approach, and we are open to receiving views from any other businesses with an interest in UK-Canada trade.The working group will begin meeting shortly and report back to both Prime Ministers in December.

How many jobs have been created in each region by the Office for Investment since October 2024.

The Official Statistics for inward investment at DBT inward investment results 2024 to 2025 - GOV.UK show the number of new jobs that have been created by DBT supported investment projects which landed in the 2024-25 financial year. These are split by region in table 4.2 of the results tables. Figures are presented on a financial year basis and partial years are not published.

Whether his Department have included diversity quotas as part of selection criteria for contracts awarded since 5 July 2024.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer my predecessor gave on 25th March 2025 to question UIN 38901 (Written questions and answers - Written questions, answers and statements - UK Parliament).The Department has not included diversity quotas as part of selection criteria in any contracts awarded by the Department since the answer previously provided.

What pipeline of future inward investment opportunities is being managed by the Office for Investment as of 10 September 2025.

OfI teams actively work across government to scope out potential future projects. The Government does not comment on active commercial negotiations.

Whether her Department have included mandatory commitments to equality, diversity and inclusion training as part of it's procurement contracts awarded since 5 July 2024.

In accordance with government commercial policy, the department uses centrally maintained frameworks provided by Crown Commercial Service and otherwise uses the suite of standard contracts maintained by Cabinet Office, for the majority of contracts. These terms and conditions require the supplier to perform its obligations under the contract in accordance with equality law, but do not include a requirement to undertake mandatory training.