Written questions by Davies.

How many MP surgeries have Ministers in his Department had with MPs (a) in the period July 2024 to January 2025 and (b) since January 2025.

Awaiting answer.

What steps he is taking to help prevent pub closures in East Grinstead and Uckfield constituency.

Awaiting answer.

What steps he is taking with Cabinet colleagues to support the creation of jobs for young people in East Grinstead and Uckfield.

Awaiting answer.

What consideration has there been to provide BS 30480 Suicide and the Workplace standard available to businesses in the United Kingdom.

Awaiting answer.

What assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of resourcing levels in local Trading Standards services.

Trading Standards are provided by local authorities who operate independently from central government, so local authorities make decisions according to their individual needs.The final 2026-27 Local Government Finance Settlement makes available £78 billio...

How (i) consumers and (ii) businesses can report incidents of illicit trade on high streets.

The National Crime Agency estimates that at least £1 billion is being laundered through rogue shops operating on UK high streets. Addressing this threat is a priority for the Government, and on 19 May, the government announced a £30 million crackdown targ...

How many times Ministers from his Department have attended UK conferences, trade shows and exhibitions since 7 February 2023.

Details of the meetings held by Ministers of the Department for Business and Trade are available on transparency pages of gov.uk and are released as part of the Government's transparency agenda.

When he plans to remove minimum wage age bands.

The Government is committed to ensuring that every adult worker benefits from a genuine living wage, and we will remove the discriminatory age bands for adults. From April 2025, we are boosting the National Minimum Wage for 18–20-year-olds by 16.3% or £1.40 to £10.00 per hour, a record increase and a significant step towards our commitment.

Whether he has carried out a proportionality assessment on clause 16 of the Employment Rights Bill.

The Employment Rights Bill establishes a new day one statutory right for all employees who have experienced the loss of a loved one. The measures in the bill set a framework for the entitlement, and the details will be set out in secondary legislation. The Government has published an Impact Assessment, which covers the impacts on businesses and workers. Due to the sensitive and personal nature of bereavement, we will be consulting stakeholders on the specifics of the entitlement to ensure that Bereavement Leave is sculpted by the needs of employees and employers.

When he plans to create a single enforcement body to ensure employment rights are upheld.

Creating the Fair Work Agency (FWA) is a complex process that requires primary legislation. The Employment Rights Bill is the first phase of delivering the FWA and implementation will occur in phases following Royal Assent. We will set out more detail on this in due course.

Whether he sought external legal advice when drafting the Employment Rights Bill.

With respect to the Employment Rights Bill, the Department has been supported by legal advice from the Government Legal Department and, where appropriate, external legal advice. Legal advice provided to the Government is privileged.

What role the Fair Work Agency will play in ensuring businesses observe best practice when granting their employees maternity leave.

We are creating the Fair Work Agency to deliver a much-needed upgrade to enforcement of workers’ rights. The Fair Work Agency will work closely with the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS), which already provides guidance for both employers and workers in these specific areas, to deliver appropriate support to the majority of businesses who want to comply with the law.

What the role of the Fair Work Agency will be in helping to ensure businesses observe best practice in granting paternity leave.

We are creating the Fair Work Agency to deliver a much-needed upgrade to enforcement of workers’ rights. The Fair Work Agency will work closely with the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS), which already provides guidance for both employers and workers in these specific areas, to deliver appropriate support to the majority of businesses who want to comply with the law.