Written questions by Anderson.

What information they hold on the number of workdays that were completed remotely in their Department in (a) 2024 and (b) 2025 to date.

On 24 October 2024 the Cabinet Office announced that 60% minimum office attendance for most staff continues to be the best balance of working for the Civil Service. Senior managers will continue to be expected to be in the office more than 60% of the time. Due to space constraints the department has set the requirement of 40% for delegated grades.The department does not hold comprehensive data on the number of workdays that were completed remotely. See Civil Service Headquarters occupancy data for published information covering departmental headquarters building occupancy.The department introduced a process to record office attendance information from 4 August 2025. This data is not yet available.

What steps his Department is taking to help support pubs.

The Government recognises the vital role pubs play in supporting local economies and fostering community cohesion, as well as the pressures they face.That is why we established the Licensing Taskforce in April, bringing together representatives from the hospitality sector to help shape reforms. We published the Government’s response on 31 July, setting out a new National Licensing Policy Framework to simplify outdated rules and protect long-standing venues from noise complaints. These reforms form part of the recently announced Small Business Strategy, which aims to tackle late payments, boost access to finance, and remove red tape to enable small businesses, including pubs, grow and thrive.Additionally, we’re creating a fairer business rates system that protects the high street and supports investment, including permanently lower rates for retail, hospitality and leisure properties under £500,000 rateable value. We’ve also launched a Hospitality Support Scheme to co-fund projects aligned with DBT and Hospitality Sector Council priorities such as Pub is The Hub to encourage local investment.

What steps his Department is taking to support post offices.

The Post Office provides critical services that are valued by communities across the UK and the Government is committed to strengthening the network.We are backing that commitment with over £500 million of investment during this Parliament, including this financial year up to £136m to invest in new technology and replace Horizon.Government recently published a Green Paper which seeks to open a dialogue on the Post Office, from the services it provides, how we modernise and strengthen the network, through to how we change the culture at the Post Office. We want to hear from everyone with a stake in the Post Office’s future.

If he will ensure the long term future of the postal service.

The government is clear on its commitment to the provision of a comprehensive, reliable and affordable universal postal service that works for customers, workers and businesses.Ofcom has reviewed the future of the universal service obligation (USO) and set out changes to put the USO on a more sustainable footing and to push Royal Mail to improve reliability.

How much their Department has spent on translating documents into languages other than (a) English and (b) other native UK languages in each year since 2023; and what these languages were.

The Department for Business and Trade does not routinely record the costs for translation of documents into other languages separately from other translation and interpretation costs. We can confirm the Department for Business and Trade spent £14,085.54 on translating documents into other languages from April 2023 - July 2025. Other expenses may be excluded from this as they are not recorded at this level of detail.As the department for economic growth, we support businesses to invest, grow and export, creating jobs and opportunities across the country. DBT employs teams based in priority markets around the world and those teams often use local language skills to help UK businesses access opportunities to export their goods and services globally. Likewise, they will use local language skills to promote the UK to a global audience, and in particular to attract high value investment to the UK.Language service needs and spend are assessed to ensure these services offer good value for money for taxpayers while maintaining high standards of service delivery.

What steps he is taking to ensure all wrongly (a) accused and (b) convicted sub-post masters are offered compensation.

As of 2 June 2025, £1.039 billion has been paid to over 7,300 claimants across the Horizon schemes. This represents a more than fourfold increase since July 2024, with more than 4,500 victims receiving compensation for the first time.We continue to seek the views of the Horizon Compensation Advisory Board to ensure fairness and consider ways we can speed up redress.We are taking a variety of measures to increase the pace of the delivery of redress across our schemes. For example, we recently announced that we are reintroducing facilitated discussions in the GLO scheme – as requested by claimants’ lawyers. This should provide significant help in increasing further the pace at which compensation can be paid.

What steps he is taking to ensure fair and timely compensation payments for wrongly (a) accused and (b) convicted sub-postmasters.

As of 2 June 2025, £1.039 billion has been paid to over 7,300 claimants across the Horizon schemes. This represents a more than fourfold increase since July 2024, with more than 4,500 victims receiving compensation for the first time.We continue to seek the views of the Horizon Compensation Advisory Board to ensure fairness and consider ways we can speed up redress.We are taking a variety of measures to increase the pace of the delivery of redress across our schemes. For example, we recently announced that we are reintroducing facilitated discussions in the GLO scheme – as requested by claimants’ lawyers. This should provide significant help in increasing further the pace at which compensation can be paid.

What steps his Department is taking to improve working conditions for people who work in distribution centres.

Government cares about working conditions and employment rights, that is why we are delivering the Employment Rights Bill. The Bill will deliver significant benefits, including better working conditions, more secure work, reducing inequalities and improving industrial relations. Stronger employment rights for workers will ensure a fairer and more equal labour market. For example, over 2 million people on zero or low hours contracts could benefit from the right to guaranteed hours, and the right to payment for shifts cancelled, moved or cut at short notice.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of the Zero Emission Vehicle Mandate on towns with large vehicle production industries.

The government does not hold data on how the Zero Emissions Vehicle Mandate has impacted on towns with large vehicle production industries specifically. However, we speak regularly to all the major UK automotive stakeholders to take the temperature of the sector and their concerns. The government is committed to ensuring the transition to zero emissions works for the industry. That is why we introduced significant changes to the Mandate in April 2025, allowing for greater flexibility in meeting ZEV targets and extending the sale of hybrid vehicles to 2035.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of trade union access proposals on SMEs that employ less than 200 people.

The Government is committed to modernising industrial relations and as part of this we are moving away from a reliance on outdated, ad-hoc access arrangements by providing a formal right of access for trade unions in the Employment Rights Bill.We will be consulting on specific details of the access framework before they are set out in secondary legislation. We encourage businesses and unions of all sizes to share their views. An impact assessment on the Bill was published last year.

What steps is he taking to support the steel industry.

Steel is a top priority for this Government. As shown with the passing of the Steel Industry (Special Measures) Act, this Government will not hesitate to take unprecedented steps to safeguard the future of steelmaking in the UK, protecting jobs, national security and supply chains. We have completed the roll out of the British Industry Supercharger, which from this month means our steel industry will save an estimated £320mn – £410mn this year. This is on top of continuing the network charging compensation scheme. We have taken action to make public procurement of UK-made steel easier and increased support for businesses to report unfair international trade practices. We have continued to develop the policy and approach for the steel strategy.

What diversity, equality and inclusion targets his Department has for staff recruitment.

Appointments to advertised vacancies in the Department for Business and Trade are made on the basis of fair recruitment open to all. The Department does not operate recruitment targets in relation to diversity, equality and inclusion. The Department does have an internally published Diversity and Inclusion plan that is focussed on embracing fairness for all.

What the total cost was of providing translation services in his Department in the last year.

We can confirm the Department for Business and Trade spent £53,491.37 on translation services from April 2024 – 25th March 2025.As the department for economic growth, we support businesses to invest, grow and export, creating jobs and opportunities across the country. This figure includes providing translation services and also where the Department required translations or interpreters.

Whether he plans to re-shore manufacturing.

Reshoring, alongside progressive key trade agreements, will be important of our national resilience, and we are determined to make the UK a prime location for globally competitive manufacturing.The Industrial Strategy this spring will set out an ambitious long-term vision for UK manufacturing competitiveness and will detail how we intend to boost R&D, skills, and fast track adoption of new manufacturing technologies here in the UK.

Whether he has commissioned a cost-benefit analysis on providing additional support to prevent the closure of key strategic steel plants.

Our commitment to the steel industry remains unwavering. On Sunday 16 February we published a consultation on our Plan for Steel. Along with work already ongoing across Government, this will provide a clear evidence base on the needs of the steel sector and its customers. This work will ensure the best use of our funding commitment of up to £2.5bn to deliver change and unlock private investment, ensuring a bright and sustainable future for UK steelmaking.

What steps his Department is taking to help ensure that residents of Ashfield constituency are able to access essential postal services.

The Government provides an annual £50m Network Subsidy funding to support the delivery of a minimum number of Post Office branches and a geographical spread of these branches in line with published access criteria. This requires 99% of the UK population to be within three miles of their nearest Post Office outlet. The Government-set Access Criteria ensures that however the network changes, services remain within local reach of all citizens, including those living in the Ashfield constituency.

What recent discussions he has had with the Post Office on maintaining local post office services.

The Secretary of State and I have met with the CEO and Chair of Post Office Limited to ensure that Post Office delivers for postmasters and its communities. We recently met with the Post Office Chair, Nigel Railton, and discussed his proposals for the future of the company before Mr Railton announced Post Office's Transformation Plan on 13th November. While Post Office has the freedom to make commercial decisions regarding the composition of its network, Government sets the parameters for the Post Office to operate in. Government protects the branch network by setting minimum access criteria which require 99% of the UK population to be within three miles of their nearest Post Office outlet. The access criteria ensure that however the network changes, services remain within local reach of all citizens.

With reference to paragraph 5.141 of the Autumn Budget 2024, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of increasing the National Living Wage on the economy.

We will publish an Impact Assessment alongside the legislation that implements the increase to the National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage in April 2025.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of increasing the minimum wage on SMEs; and whether she plans to provide additional support to SMEs.

This Government remains committed to helping small businesses thrive and will be publishing our Small Business Strategy next year. This will set out our vision for all small businesses, from boosting scale-ups to growing the co-operative economy. It will address key policy areas such as creating thriving high streets, making it easier to access finance, opening overseas and domestic markets, building business capabilities, and providing a strong business environment.We will publish an Impact Assessment alongside the legislation that implements the increase to the National Living Wage. We estimate that over 3 million workers will receive a pay rise due to the increase in the National Living Wage in April 2025.

What steps his Department is taking to help support pubs in Ashfield constituency.

Pubs, including those in Ashfield, are at the heart of our communities and vital for economic growth. That is why the Government is creating a fairer business rate system by introducing permanently lower tax rates for retail, hospitality, and leisure businesses from 2026-27 and extending the current relief for 1 year at 40%.The government is also reducing alcohol duty on qualifying draught products, representing an overall reduction in duty bills of over £85m a year.We will transform the apprenticeship levy into a more flexible growth and skills levy to better support business and boost opportunity for people to work in Pubs.Through the Hospitality Sector Council, we are addressing strategic issues for the sector related to high street regeneration, skills, sustainability, and productivity.