Written questions by Wrighting.

What assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the UK India Free Trade Agreement on the UK fashion industry.

Helping our world-class fashion industry grow remains a government priority. The FTA will expand consumer choice, reduce costs for UK businesses, and strengthen their competitiveness in India’s fast-growing market.DBT’s impact assessment, published at signature, noted a small decrease in output growth in clothing and textiles, but the UK and Indian sectors are largely complementary; clothing retailers will benefit from cheaper imports and luxury UK garments like Harris tweed will se tariffs removed. There is a bilateral safeguard mechanism to protect any sector facing injury.We will continue working closely with industry to monitor and maximise the FTA’s benefits.

What steps his Department is taking to support fashion designers in the UK access scale up finance.

At the CreativeUK summit, Government announced the Creative Industries Sector Pan to increase support for designers, including DCMS investment in the British Fashion Council's NEWGEN programme, providing funding and mentoring to emerging talent. The Department for Business is supporting the Creative Industries, including fashion designers, through expanding the capacity of the British Business Bank. This new capacity includes £4 billon for fund and direct investments across the eight Industrial Strategy sectors over the next four years. On 17 February the Bank announced a £45 million commitment into Redrice Ventures, which specialises in seed-stage investments across the creative industries sector.