Written questions by Wood.

What departmental receptions have taken place in the offices of consultant lobbying firms since 4 July 2024, and what was the rationale in each case.

The Department for Business and Trade hosted an Industrial Strategy Business reception at the offices of FGS Global on 23 June 2025. The Department had worked with several businesses to find a suitable central London business location to host the reception.The Department does not hold a centralised list of every Departmental reception event. This event is the only reception at a consultant lobbying firm that the department has a record of taking place since June 2024.

If he will place in the Library a copy of the Freedom of Information Act disclosure, reference FOI2025/09531, of 16 September 2025.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I’ve given him on 29 January 2026 for question UIN 107051. Given that the information the hon. Member seeks has been published in that answer, I have no plans to place a copy of the Freedom of Information disclosure he mentions in the Library.

With reference to the regulated public appointment, Regulatory Policy Committee (RPC) - Committee Members - 5 roles, with application deadline of 23 October 2024, who was the Advisory Assessment Independent Panel Member listed on gov.uk as "To be confirmed".

The Independent Panel Member for this public appointment was Dr Alison Walker-Fraser. Alison is a business consultant and Chair of Trustees at Anaphylaxis UK. She is an experienced IPM for non-executive recruitment campaigns.

Pursuant to the answer of 7 November 2025, to Question 86249, on Department for Business and Trade: Social Media, if he will name the specific social media influencers who were commissioned by the department to undertake paid advertising for the department for the National Minimum and Living Wage campaign.

Influencer marketing is a credible promotional channel, which is considered for government advertising campaigns and can be an effective way to reach audiences that the Government and traditional marketing channels find hard to reach.The activity aimed to raise awareness of the new National Minimum and Living Wage rates to ensure audiences such as young people, part-time female workers, ethnic minorities and disabled groups are paid correctly.Six influencers were used as part of the Department for Business and Trade’s 2025 National Minimum and Living Wage campaign. They were: Bella RobertsKrishnan KaraNoah BrierleyRotimi Merriman-Johnson (Mr MoneyJar)Beth FullerJasmin Shum

What discussions he is having with his European counterparts on the recognition of (a) legal qualifications and (b) other professional qualifications.

HMG remains committed to making it easier for UK and EU professionals to have their qualifications recognised across regulated professions.In the 2025 Common Understanding, the UK and EU committed to setting up dedicated dialogues on the Trade and Cooperation Agreement provisions which enable regulator-led, sector-specific recognition agreements to be negotiated.The annual Trade Specialised Committee on Services, Investment and Digital Trade also provides a forum for the UK and EU to discuss the recognition of professional qualifications.HMG encourages and supports UK regulators, including legal regulators, to work with their EU counterparts to improve recognition of professional qualifications, including through guidance and funding.

Pursuant to the Answer of 18 November 2025 to Question 88691 on Jeffrey Epstein, whether the records are searchable by keyword.

Yes, digital records are searchable by keyword.

Pursuant to the answer of 18 November 2025, to Question 88690, on Unite: Conference Centres and Hotels, what steps (a) BDO, (b) the inspector and (c) the Certification Officer taken to ensure that documents held by Unite, Unite members and its contractors or sub-contractors, are not lost or destroyed, and whether any formal notices have been served to this effect.

As previously publicly notified, an inspector, duly appointed by the Certification Officer, is carrying out the inspection under statutory powers. Accordingly, the Certification Officer is allowing that process to proceed. No formal notices have been served by the Certification Officer.Section 33(7) of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 makes it an offence for any official or agent of a trade union to destroy, falsify or make false entries in documents relating to the union’s financial affairs.BDO is a private entity, and the government cannot comment on its actions.

With reference to the Cabinet Office Annual report and accounts 2024-2025, HC1372, 23 October 2025, with reference to the target to reduce the cost of regulation by 25% on page 7, what the Government’s latest estimate is of the total cost of regulation to businesses and organisations in the public sector; what baseline year and total monetary value were used to calculate the stated target to reduce that cost; and by what date the Government aims to achieve that reduction.

We have estimated the baseline of the administrative burden of regulation on businesses (as at start of April 2025) at £22.4bn a year in 2024 prices. Our target is to reduce this figure by 25%, or £5.6bn, by the end of Parliament. We have adopted a pragmatic and ‘top-down’ approach to estimating the baseline, drawing on a range of existing data sources including previous baselining exercises, DBT’s regular Business Perceptions Survey (BPS), DBT business population estimates and Office for National Statistics data on wages and labour costs.

Pursuant to the Answer of 10 July 2025, to Question 64917 on Stamp Advisory Committee, whether papers for that Committee are held by officials in his Department.

The Stamp Advisory Committee advises Royal Mail on future stamp designs. The Postal Museum’s online catalogue lists copies of Stamp Advisory Committee minutes which are available to the public for research in line with Royal Mail’s retention policy.

Pursuant to the Answer of 22 October 2025, to Question 82332 on Companies: Registration, for what reason Companies House recognises nations that the UK Government does not itself recognise.

The composition of the list of nationalities permitted for the purposes of company filings is a practical measure to ensure that the nationalities of directors are recorded consistently in the Register of Companies and are transparent to users of the Register.

What estimate he has made of the potential cost of the requirement in the Employment Rights Bill to give facility time to trade union equality representatives to (a) public and (b) private sector employers.

The Employment Rights Bill creates a new statutory right for equality representatives to take reasonable paid time off to fulfil their duties. These representatives play a key role in raising awareness and promoting equal rights, including arranging training and consulting with employers on matters such as collective policies and practices. This will enable organisations to realise the benefits of being an equal opportunities employer. The Department published an impact assessment on the Employment Rights Bill on 21 October 2024.

Pursuant to the Answer of 29 October 2025 to Question 84210 on Jeffery Epstein, whether records held by Integrated Corporate Services for that period are held in (a) electronic and (b) hard copy format.

Records for that period are held in electronic format.

Pursuant to the answer of 24 October 2025, to Question 82331, on Unite: Conference Centres and Hotels, when he expects the Certification Officer to publish the conclusion of the inspection; if he will set out who paid for the BDO report; and if he will name the inspector who has been appointed.

The Certification Officer is required to publish a final report following an inspection, which includes the name of the inspector appointed to any such inspection. While the legislation does not specify a timeline for publication, it is expected that the Certification Officer will take a short period to reflect on the findings, consider any next steps, and provide a copy of the report to the union before publication. In respect of the funding of the BDO report, this is a matter for the union itself. The Certification Officer received this report to assist in fulfilling his statutory duties.

Pursuant to the Answer of 24 October 2025 to Question 82331 on Unite: Conference Centres and Hotels, what steps the Certification Officer is taking to obtain (a) documents and (b) digital information from Unite.

The Certification Officer has appointed an inspector to carry out the inspection in accordance with the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992. Under this process, the inspector has the statutory authority to require the production of relevant documents and digital information, and is empowered to request assistance, attendance and documentation, from officials and agents connected to the union, as well as from others who may be in possession of materials and information he considers relevant to his inspection, and it is their duty to comply. These powers ensure that the inspector can conduct a thorough and effective investigation.

Pursuant to the Answer of 17 October 2025 to Question 77460 on Department for Business and Trade: Social Media, on which campaigns influencers were used.

The Department for Business and Trade used influencers as part of the National Minimum and Living Wage campaign, to raise awareness of the wage rate increases for workers that came into effect from 1st April 2025. This ensured workers understood their new entitlements and encouraged them to check their pay and act if they were paid incorrectly.

Pursuant to the Answer of 11 September 2025 to Question 73348 on Companies: Registration, for what reason Companies House recognised Palestinian as a nationality before the UK Government formally recognised the state of Palestine; and what is the wider policy of Companies House for what nationalities are recognised where there is no formal recognition by the UK Government.

‘Palestinian’ has been included in the Companies House list of nationalities for many years. This guidance was last reviewed in 2017, at which point Palestinian was retained on the list. Nationalities and countries for company filings - GOV.UK The current policy is to accept a nationality which matches a nationality on this list.

With reference to the Freedom of Information Act disclosure reference FOI2025/09531 of 16 September 2025, whether payments have been made to Mr Money Jar for social media activity since July 2024, other than for the Living Wage campaign.

Since July 2024, no payments have been made by the Department for Business and Trade to Mr Money Jar for social media activity, other than the National Minimum and Living Wage campaign.

Pursuant to the Answer of 10 September 2025 to Question 76302 on Lord Mandelson, whether Lord Mandelson's mailbox during his time as Business Secretary, held by Integrated Corporate Services, holds (a) information and (b) correspondence relating to (i) Jeffery Epstein and (ii) the sale of Sempra Commodities to JP Morgan.

The Integrated Corporate Services (ICS) do not hold any records of information or correspondence from Lord Mandelson’s mailbox relating to Jeffrey Epstein or the sale of Sempra Commodities.

Pursuant to the Answer of 11 September 2025 to Question 73349, on Unite: Conference Centres and Hotels, if he will publish a copy of the report that the Certification Officer received in the Library.

The Certification Officer has no plans at present to publish the report authored by BDO auditors due to ongoing work. The report was provided to him in order to assist him in delivering his statutory obligations. The Certification Officer has appointed an inspector to investigate the financial affairs of Unite the Union, including in respect of certain matters raised in the report referred to. Upon conclusion of the inspection, the Certification Officer will publish the inspector's report on his website.

Pursuant to the Answer of 11 September 2025 to Question 74315 on DBT: Social Media, how much has been spent since 4 July 2025; on what campaigns; and through what influencers.

Since 4 July 2025, no money has been spent on influencers by the Department for Business and Trade.