Written questions by Creasy.

At what frequency his Department plans to hold meetings of the EU Files Forum; and whether the Government intends to publish (a) agendas (b) lists of participants and (c) minutes for each.

The Department for Business and Trade holds a quarterly official-level EU Files Forum, with the next meeting scheduled for December 2025.This forum was established to facilitate a dialogue between government and the UK business community on evolving EU legislation. To protect any sensitive or commercially confidential information, we do not intend to publish agendas, participant lists, or minutes.The Government remains committed to open and constructive dialogue with businesses and their representatives to ensure their perspectives are considered in shaping the UK's approach to EU-related trade matters.

If he will make a assessment of the potential impact of the EU Commission proposal to (a) halve steel quotas and (b) increase tariffs to 50% on the (i) operation and (ii) implementation of the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement.

The Government is actively assessing the potential impact of this proposal on the implementation of the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA). In addition to internal analysis, we are in active dialogue with the European Commission to fully understand the details of their proposal and next steps. We expect the EU to fulfil its obligations under the TCA.We reserve the right to take any action in response to any changes to our trading relationships to protect steel jobs and defend our steel industry.

Whether the Government plans to include provisions in the forthcoming regulations under Clause 22A of the Employment Rights Bill to ensure that any confidentiality agreement includes (a) a time limit and (b) an opt-out mechanism.

Clause 22A of the Employment Rights Bill will void any provision in an agreement, such as a contract of employment or settlement agreement, between a worker and their employer that prevents a worker from speaking out about relevant harassment or discrimination. The Government intends to consult on the regulations that will set out the criteria for when an NDA can still be validly entered into in the case of relevant harassment and discrimination. The regulations are aimed at shifting the balance of power away from employers who misuse NDAs.

What assessment he has made of the prevalence of the use of fire and rehire practices in higher education in England; and what steps he plans to take to address it.

The Government has published a comprehensive package of analysis on the impact of the Employment Rights Bill including an impact assessment of the Bill’s measure to end the unscrupulous use of fire and rehire. The evidence on the prevalence of the practice of fire and rehire is limited, however. Department for Business and Trade analysis suggests that <1% of employers might engage in the practice each year.We are strengthening the law in this area to make it clear that the unscrupulous use of fire and rehire and fire and replace are not acceptable and will be an automatically unfair dismissal.

If he will make a comparative assessment of UK and EU product standard regulations issued since 31 January 2020.

The UK’s product safety and metrology framework is derived from EU law and has developed over the past four decades, while the UK was a Member of the EU. While there have been some product standard developments since 31 January 2020, the regulations in the EU and UK currently remain broadly similar.

How many officials in his Department have worked on product standard regulations in each year since 31 January 2020.

The Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) is the UK’s national product regulator within the Department for Business and Trade (DBT). As well as policy responsibility for product safety and standards, OPSS delivers front line product regulation for DBT, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, and the Department for Transport. The Department does not routinely publish separate data on the number of staff employed in OPSS. The last separately published figures for OPSS were that it employed 430 staff in the year 2021/22.

If he will make an estimate of the number of EU product standard regulations that will be issued in the next five years.

No estimate has been made on the number of product standard regulations that will be issued by the EU in the next five years. Some expected changes to EU regulations have been identified, with outdoor noise regulations due to be implemented in May 2025 for instance. The Government takes consumer protection very seriously which is why we are introducing the Product Regulation and Metrology Bill. This Bill is intended to enable the UK to maintain high product standards, supporting businesses and economic growth, by allowing the UK Parliament the power to update relevant laws.

What work the UK- Egypt Subcommittee of the Association Committee on Trade and Investment is undertaking; and when that committee will meet next.

The UK-Egypt Trade and Investment Subcommittee is a forum for promoting further trade and investment between our two countries, and the inaugural meeting was held on 18 July 2023.At this meeting, market access issues, including ongoing regulatory collaboration in areas of shared priority and interest, such as renewable energy, pharmaceuticals, and financial services, were discussed.The Subcommittee meets as circumstances require and officials in the UK and Egypt work together on an ongoing basis on trade and investment issues.