Written questions by Arthur.

What assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of the British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association in the context of its role as an approved alternative dispute resolution (ADR) body, including in relation to its independence and compliance with the requirements for ADR providers.

The British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association (BVRLA) Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) scheme is a voluntary, non-statutory dispute resolution scheme, set up by the industry and independent of government. DBT funds the Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI) who accredit and regularly audit BVRLA against key principles including neutrality, independence and effective complaints handling under a new mandatory accreditation and monitoring framework in the 2026 ADR Regulations. The new 2026 ADR Regulations replace the 2015 ADR Regulations, introducing mandatory accreditation of all ADR providers, strengthened accreditation and monitoring standards and new sanctioning powers to tackle poor performance.

What guidance and oversight the Government provides to private postal companies to ensure that agreements with trade unions on pay and conditions are respected; and what steps the Government is taking to support adequate pay and employment standards in the postal sector.

Pay and terms and conditions of employment, provided they are lawful, are, in general, a matter for private businesses to agree with their workforce and their representatives. The Secretary of State met Dave Ward, General Secretary of the CWU, and Daniel Křetínský, the owner of EP Group, on 16 February and again on 19 March 2026 to facilitate continued discussions on these matters., The Plan to Make Work Pay will boost fairness in the workplace, ensure equality of treatment and opportunity, and support low-paid workers.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of Live Nation Entertainment and its subsidiary Ticketmaster controlling a majority share of the UK live music ticketing market on competition and consumer outcomes.

The Government is committed to ensuring markets work well for consumers and businesses. As the UK’s lead consumer and competition authority, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has a statutory duty to promote competition for the benefit of consumers. It is the role of the CMA to examine potential breaches of competition law, including abuse of a dominant position, and investigate markets if it thinks there are competition or consumer problems. As an independent authority, the CMA has discretion to investigate competition matters which, according to its prioritisation principles, it considers most appropriate.

What steps he is taking to ensure that UK consumption and supply chains do not indirectly contribute to (a) deprivation and (b) exploitative conditions in lower-income countries.

This Government is committed to rooting out human rights and labour abuses from global supply chains. We support responsible business conduct standards to accelerate the positive contribution of companies to sustainable development and help businesses avoid and address any direct or indirect adverse impacts. In the Trade Strategy, we launched the Responsible Business Conduct review, to evaluate the UK’s current approach, and assess the merits of alternative policy options to support responsible business. Ministers will update Parliament when the review is complete.

What steps he is taking to ensure businesses selling e-scooters and e-bikes make customers aware of the legal restrictions on the use of those products.

All consumer products, including e-bikes and e-scooters, must be safe when placed on the market. Businesses are responsible for ensuring that their products comply with the relevant product safety regulations and they must include any instructions needed for safe use or safety warnings.In addition, the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency conducts market surveillance activities of e-scooter retailers to ensure they are being sold lawfully and that retailers are making legal restrictions on e-scooter use sufficiently clear.

What steps his Department is taking to support small and medium-sized (a) biotechnology and (b) pharmaceutical companies to conduct clinical trials in the UK.

The Department for Business and Trade is committed to making the UK an outstanding place for life sciences companies to start and scale. The Office for Life Sciences has a target to see more scale-up finance raised by life sciences businesses in the UK than anywhere else in Europe. A dedicated stream of work is being delivered to support small and medium-sized biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies. The Department of Health and Social Care and Department of Science, Innovation and Technology are developing tailored approaches for SMEs in parallel, to ensure that they can access the UK’s research infrastructure effectively.

With reference to the policy paper entitled Licensing taskforce report and government response, published on 31 July 2025, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the licensing taskforce recommendations on public health.

The Government is inviting views and evidence to inform the development of a modern, proportionate and enabling licensing system.A Call for Evidence is currently open until 6 November in order to gather views and evidence to inform proposals for reforms to licensing. This is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/calls-for-evidence/reforming-the-licensing-system.No assessment has yet been made of the impact of any reforms on public health. Any legislative changes will be subject to an impact assessment, consultation and parliamentary scrutiny.

With reference to the policy paper entitled Licensing taskforce report and government response, published on 31 July 2025, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the licensing taskforce recommendations on violence against women and girls.

The Government is inviting views and evidence to inform the development of a modern, proportionate and enabling licensing system.A Call for Evidence is currently open until 6 November in order to gather views and evidence to inform proposals for reforms to licensing. This is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/calls-for-evidence/reforming-the-licensing-system.No assessment has yet been made of the impact of any reforms on violence against women and girls. Any legislative changes will be subject to an impact assessment, consultation and parliamentary scrutiny.

With reference to the policy paper entitled Licensing taskforce report and government response, published on 31 July 2025, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the licensing taskforce recommendations on anti-social behaviour.

The Government is inviting views and evidence to inform the development of a modern, proportionate and enabling licensing system.A Call for Evidence is currently open until 6 November in order to gather views and evidence to inform proposals for reforms to licensing. This is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/calls-for-evidence/reforming-the-licensing-system.No assessment has yet been made of the impact of any reforms on anti-social behaviour. Any legislative changes will be subject to an impact assessment, consultation and parliamentary scrutiny.

Whether his Department has had recent discussions with Motability Operations on encouraging the sourcing of UK-manufactured vehicles.

Motability Foundation is independent of government and regulated by the Charity Commission, so is wholly responsible for the terms and the administration of the Scheme. DWP does however work closely with Motability Foundation and is responsible for the disability benefits that provide a passport to the Motability Scheme. As a Government, we are committed to the growth of the automotive sector and provide support through programmes such as DRIVE35, which will invest up to £2.5bn to support zero emission vehicle manufacturing in the UK, and the Electric Car Grant, which narrows the upfront cost between petrol and electric vehicles, giving thousands more drivers access to electric vehicles

If his Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of reducing the time to consult on Hugh’s Law to ensure earlier legislative consideration.

Government recognises the significant challenges and distress that serious childhood illness can cause. The department will consult on Hugh’s Law in 2026. In line with the Consultation Principles, we will ensure that the consultation lasts a proportionate amount of time, taking into account the nature and impact of the proposals. Options for consultation must be carefully developed in an evidence-based manner to ensure that robust proposals are put forward for consideration.

What steps he plans to take through the new trade strategy to help ensure that farmers and workers in global supply chains earn a living wage.

In the Trade Strategy, the Government launched a review into the UK's approach to responsible business conduct, focused on tackling human rights and labour abuses, modern slavery and environmental harms and addressing such issues.

Whether he permits the export of F-35 components which are only compatible with the F-35I variant of the aircraft.

No. As my Rt. Honourable friend the Minister for Defence Procurement has previously confirmed to the House, UK suppliers do not manufacture or export components that are exclusively used on the Israeli variant of the f-35 aircraft.

Whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of staff cuts at Dundee University on the industrial strategy.

The Government recognises the crucial role of universities in the UK's innovation ecosystem and in delivering the skills needed to drive growth as part of the Industrial Strategy. Education policy is devolved in Scotland, and it is for the Scottish Government to consider the broader impact of developments in the education sector, including of any potential staff cuts in Scottish universities.

If he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the Scottish Government's National innovation strategy 2023 to 2033 on his industrial strategy.

Accelerating the rate of innovation and increasing the adoption and diffusion of ideas, technologies, and processes is an essential step for growing productivity of our growth-driving sectors. My officials are working with the Scottish Government on how we can drive growth in Scotland and the wider UK within the context of our Industrial Strategy. This includes the role of innovation in helping us reach our shared growth objectives. This partnership will help make the Industrial Strategy a UK-wide effort and support the considerable sectoral strengths of Scotland.

Whether he has had discussions with Scottish universities on the development of an industrial strategy.

The Government recognises the crucial role of universities in the UK’s innovation ecosystem and in delivering the skills needed to drive growth as part of the Industrial Strategy. My officials have discussed our Industrial Strategy plans with Universities Scotland.

Whether robotics will have a role in a future industrial strategy.

The Industrial Strategy Green Paper identified eight growth-driving sectors. All sectors can shape and will benefit from policy reform through the Industrial Strategy’s cross-cutting policies alongside the broader Growth Mission. This will create the pro-business environment for all businesses to invest and employ, with growth that supports high-quality jobs and ensures that the benefits are shared across people, places, and generations. Advanced production machinery and robotics are central to increasing productivity across the manufacturing sector. The Made Smarter Adoption Programme is helping SME manufacturers adopt industrial digital technologies such as robotics and autonomous systems to increase their productivity and efficiency.

What place food manufacturing will have in the industrial strategy.

The Industrial Strategy Green Paper identified eight growth-driving sectors. All sectors can shape and will benefit from policy reform through the Industrial Strategy’s cross-cutting policies alongside the broader Growth Mission. This will create the pro-business environment for all businesses to invest and employ, with growth that supports high-quality jobs and ensures that the benefits are shared across people, places, and generations. The UK’s agriculture food and drink sector plays a significant part in the UK economy, with £146.7bn contribution to GVA and 4.2m jobs (13% UK total employment). Government is engaging with the food, drink and farming industries regularly on how the sector can grow and invest.

Whether his trade strategy will support the aims of the Fairtrade movement.

The UK Government is committed to advancing free and fair trade around that world that is inclusive, sustainable and reduces poverty.We remain committed to engaging civil society as we develop the new Trade Strategy.