Written questions by Reader.

What assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the Advanced Manufacturing sector plan on food and drink manufacturers.

The Government recognises the importance of the food and drink sector as the largest manufacturing industry in the UK. The Industrial Strategy will support the whole economy, including businesses outside the eight growth-driving sectors, through an improved operating environment and long-term stability.The Advanced Manufacturing sector operates as an ecosystem of complex supply chains and outputs, not as a set of siloed industries. It therefore includes a range of cross cutting interventions that have wide-spread benefits across the sector including for food and drink manufacturers such as innovation, tech adoption and broader business environment measures such as planning.

What steps his Department is taking to help support businesses to compete with direct-to-consumer online retailers that are based offshore.

We intend to introduce permanently lower tax rates for retail, hospitality, and leisure (RHL) properties, including those on the high street, from 2026-27. This tax cut must be sustainably funded, and so we intend to apply a higher rate from 2026-27 on the most valuable properties - those with a Rateable Value of £500,000 and above. These represent less than one per cent of all properties, but include the majority of large distribution warehouses, including those used by online giants.Ahead of these changes being made, we have prevented RHL relief from ending in April 2025 by extending it for one year at 40 per cent up to a cash cap of £110,000 per business and frozen the small business multiplier.We are also working with businesses to understand their barriers to growth and High Streets will be a key pillar of our forthcoming Small Business Strategy.

Whether he will include measures to strengthen the enablers of growth in the logistics sector and the infrastructure it uses in the forthcoming industrial strategy.

Our Strategy is unreservedly pro-business, engaging on complex issues that are barriers to investment, like skills, recruitment of international talent, data, R&D, technology adoption, access to finance, competition, regulation, energy prices, grid co...

Whether he plans to include measures to grow imports in the forthcoming trade strategy.

The Trade Strategy will support businesses trade and drive economic growth. Further details on this will be published in due course.

What (a) mechanism and (b) resources his Department is allocating to (i) monitor, (ii) evaluate and (iii) manage (A) passive and (B) active regulatory divergence between the UK and EU to minimise the i

This Government continues to follow EU regulatory developments with interest, engaging with the EU on key regulatory developments via TCA structures. I also recognise the importance of maintaining an effective dialogue with UK industry leaders and civil s...