Written questions by Bhatti.

How much and what proportion of the loan guarantee provided to Jaguar Land Rover has been used in the wider supply chain.

The government agreed to back Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) with a loan guarantee, to unlock up to £1.5 billion in commercial financing. The loan covered by the guarantee will be re-paid over 5 years. JLR supports 154,000 UK jobs and is an important customer for the automotive supply chain. JLR is in the best position to be able to identify and understand the needs of its supply chain, and to ensure that its suppliers receive timely payments. Eligible exporters are able to apply to UKEF for support. In this case, the UKEF Export Development Guarantee supports a specific commercial loan to JLR.

How many companies were allocated funding as part of the loan guarantee to Jaguar Land Rover.

The government agreed to back Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) with a loan guarantee, to unlock up to £1.5 billion in commercial financing. The loan covered by the guarantee will be re-paid over 5 years. JLR supports 154,000 UK jobs and is an important customer for the automotive supply chain. JLR is in the best position to be able to identify and understand the needs of its supply chain, and to ensure that its suppliers receive timely payments. Eligible exporters are able to apply to UKEF for support. In this case, the UKEF Export Development Guarantee supports a specific commercial loan to JLR.

How many companies applied to the loan guarantee scheme for Jaguar Land Rover.

The government agreed to back Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) with a loan guarantee, to unlock up to £1.5 billion in commercial financing. The loan covered by the guarantee will be re-paid over 5 years. JLR supports 154,000 UK jobs and is an important customer for the automotive supply chain. JLR is in the best position to be able to identify and understand the needs of its supply chain, and to ensure that its suppliers receive timely payments. Eligible exporters are able to apply to UKEF for support. In this case, the UKEF Export Development Guarantee supports a specific commercial loan to JLR.

What steps his Department is taking to reduce youth unemployment in the context of the hospitality sector.

The Government recognises the importance of the Hospitality in providing employment for young people. At Budget, we announced more than £1.5 billion of investment over the next three years, funding £820m for the Youth Guarantee to support young people to earn or learn, and an additional £725 million for the Growth and Skills Levy. Through the expanded Youth Guarantee, young people aged 16-24 across Great Britain are set to benefit from further support into employment and learning.We are supporting more than 50,000 young people into apprenticeships in England by fully funding apprenticeship training costs for all eligible 16-24-year-olds, removing the need for non-levy paying employers to co-fund these learners. We are also expanding foundation apprenticeships into sectors such as hospitality and retail, where young people are traditionally recruited.

What steps her Department is taking to ensure that requirements on agencies to offer guaranteed hours contracts do not reduce flexibility; and if he will consider reforms to allow such contracts to be requested by workers on the basis of hours worked with their agency.

The Government believes agency workers should be able to access a contract which reflects the hours they regularly work. Agency workers who prefer a more flexible arrangement can reject any guaranteed hours offer.It will generally be hirers’ responsibility to offer guaranteed hours to qualifying agency workers, but regulations will be able to transfer the obligation on agencies or other intermediaries in certain scenarios. We will consult to ensure the measures work for agencies, hirers and agency workers.We believe it could create undesirable barriers for agency workers to access guaranteed hours if they had to request guaranteed hours offers.

Whether he is considering retaliatory tariffs in response to US tariffs on UK car imports.

The UK automotive sector is integral to our economy, and we are disappointed by the US decision to impose 25% tariffs on automotive imports and know this will be extremely concerning for the sector. We will always support our automotive industry The government has launched a request for input from businesses to help inform our response to US tariffs We remain committed to discussions with the US on a wider economic deal that works for both the UK and the US. But nothing is off the table; this government will do everything necessary to defend the UK’s national interest.

What discussions he has had with his US counterparts on tariffs.

The UK automotive sector is integral to our economy, and we are disappointed by the US decision to impose 25% tariffs on automotive imports and know this will be extremely concerning for the sector. We will always support our automotive industry The government has launched a request for input from businesses to help inform our response to US tariffs We remain committed to discussions with the US on a wider economic deal that works for both the UK and the US. But nothing is off the table; this government will do everything necessary to defend the UK’s national interest.

What steps he is taking to support car manufacturers in the UK in the context of US tariffs.

We're disappointed by the decision to impose global tariffs of 25% on auto imports and know this will be extremely concerning for our automotive sector. We will always support our automotive industry, and in the first instance we will continue to pursue a deal that works for both us and the US. We will also use our Industrial Strategy to strengthen UK automotive competitiveness and have backed the auto sector with £2 billion to support the transition of domestic manufacturing and £300 million announced in the Budget to drive uptake of electric vehicles.This government is clear that we will always do everything necessary to defend the UK's national interest. This is why the government has launched a request for input from businesses to help shape our response to US tariffs.

Whether he has conducted an impact assessment into Invest 2035.

The Green Paper ‘Invest 2035’ set out the vision for the government’s Industrial Strategy to engage key stakeholders and invite their contributions to the consultation process. As such it does not set out individual policies which can be subject to an impact assessment. Consistent with best practice, policies in the Government’s forthcoming Industrial Strategy will have impact assessments carried out where relevant.

What publications are available for Invest 2035.

“Invest 2035”, the Industrial Strategy Green Paper, was published 14 October 2024, setting out our vision for a modern Industrial Strategy. The Invest 2035 Prospectus was published alongside this, which sets out the UK’s pitch to investors and a roadmap detailing how the Industrial Strategy will help secure investment and kickstart growth across the country. The Industrial Strategy, alongside Sector Plans for the growth-driving sectors, will be published in Spring 2025, aligned with the multi-year Spending Review.

Whether his Department has had recent discussions with Northumberland County Council on the construction of an artificial intelligence data centre in Cambois.

Officials within my Department work closely with Northumberland County Council to support investment into the region. This includes collaboration to support Blackstone and QTS’ recently confirmed investment into an artificial intelligence data centre in Blyth.