Written questions by Wood.

What guidance has been issued to employers by (a) his Department and (b) the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service on whether staff who are on strike are permitted to work for other employers during periods of industrial action.

No specific guidance has been issued to employers by the Department for Business and Trade or the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service on whether staff who are on strike are permitted to work for other employers during periods of industrial action. The liability of a worker taking industrial action and working for another employer is likely to depend on their contract with their first employer and on how its terms apply to the circumstances.

Whether any Ministers from the Department for Business Innovation and Skills were involved in the disposal of RBS Sempra Commodities to JP Morgan in the 2009-10 financial year.

Any such information is not readily available and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

If he will place in the Library a copy of any correspondence between his Department and the Commissioner for Public Appointments relating to public appointments without open and fair competition since 1 July 2024.

Under the Governance Code for Public Appointments there is no requirement to publish correspondence between the Department and the Commissioner for Public Appointments.

If he will list the names of the six digital influencers who were funded by his Department to promote the Living Wage and Minimum Wage.

I refer the member to the answer I gave on 2nd July 2025 to question 62768 (Written questions and answers - Written questions, answers and statements - UK Parliament) and the answer I gave on 11th July to question 64918 (Written questions and answers - Written questions, answers and statements - UK Parliament).

Pursuant to the Answer of 31 March 2025 to Question 40580 on Trade Union Officials: Facilities Agreements, whether he plans to revoke the The Trade Union (Facility Time Publication Requirements) Regulations 2017 following the passage of the Employment Rights Bill.

The Trade Union Facility Time Publication Requirements Regulations 2017 will be automatically revoked when section 13 of the Trade Union Act 2016 is repealed pursuant to clause 63 of the Government’s Employment Rights Bill, as they were made under powers included in that section.

Pursuant to the Answer of 1 April 2025 to Question 40907 on Business: Regulation, what metric is used for the 25% reduction from 2005 to 2010; whether it was gross or net of EU regulation; and if he will provide a relevant hyperlink or source to that reduction.

The Administrative Burden Reduction Programme of 2005-10, which delivered a total reduction of 26.62% by May 2010, defined the administrative costs of regulation as “the annual recurring costs of administrative activities that businesses and the third sector are required to perform, in order to comply with the obligations that are imposed through central government regulation.” The programme calculated these administrative costs net of EU regulation. The final report is available at the following address: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/simplifying-regulation-and-administration-of-businesses-final-report

What steps his Department is taking to uphold the Nolan principles on standards in public life in public appointments.

All appointments are made in accordance with the Governance Code on Public Appointments which states that all public appointees uphold the standards of conduct set out in the Seven Principles of Public Life. All terms of appointment specify that individuals adhere to the Nolan Principles throughout their appointment and compliance is monitored on an ongoing basis.

What meetings his Department has had with Lowick since 4 July 2024.

Details of Ministerial and Senior Civil Servant meetings with external organisations are published routinely on Gov.uk as part of the Government’s transparency agenda. The latest returns can be found here for Ministers: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dbt-ministerial-gifts-hospitality-travel-and-meetings-july-to-september-2024 and here for Senior Civil Servants: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dbt-senior-officials-business-expenses-hospitality-and-meetings-july-to-september-2024

How many (a) total and (b) full-time equivalent trade union representatives in his Department receive trade union facility time; how many trade union representatives spend over 50% of their working hours on facility time; what the cost of facility time was to his Department in the latest period for which data is available; what proportion of his Department's paybill was spent on facility time (i) since July 2024 and (ii) in the equivalent period in the 2023-24 financial year; and whether he has had discussions with trade unions on these arrangements.

The Department for Business and Trade’s (DBT) provides annual data to Cabinet Office on facilities time for its employees who are Trade Union representatives. The report for 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025 has not yet been published. Within the last reporting return period, 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024 DBT had 16 FTEs employees who were Trade Union Representatives. Of these, zero claimed over 50% facility time. The cost of facility time was 0.01% of DBT’s pay bill. Specific Information from July 2024 is not available as this is reported on annually.

Pursuant to the Answer of 8 January 2025 to Question 21053 on Trade Union Recognition, whether there are exemptions for faith-based organisations.

There are no exemptions for faith-based organisations. That has been the case since the statutory recognition scheme was set up back in 1999.

How much of the £500 million grant to support the installation of an electric arc furnace at the Port Talbot steelworks has been paid.

Grant payments are made in arrears and subject to confirmation that pre-payment conditions have been satisfactorily met. HMG has committed to provide Tata Steel with a grant of up to £500m to support the installation of an electric arc furnace at the Port Talbot site. The precise amounts and timelines for payments are commercially sensitive.

What his policy is on the export of police crowd control equipment to the US.

HM Government takes its export control responsibilities very seriously and we operate one of the most robust and transparent export control regimes in the world. This is an important lever for promoting both UK prosperity and national and global security.A range of crowd control equipment is subject to UK export controls and exporters are required to apply for an export licence to export such equipment from the UK. We rigorously assess every export licence application on a case-by-case basis against strict assessment criteria, as outlined in the Strategic Export Licensing Criteria, and this assessment will consider the ultimate destination of the equipment.

Whether Elon Musk was invited to attend the International Investment Summit in October 2024.

We are unable to comment on individual invitations. Invitees were made up of global business leaders and UK businesses critical to economic growth.