Written questions by Gethins.

What discussions he has had with her Ukrainian counterpart on the import of Ukrainian drones to the UK.

Although the Government works closely with the Government of Ukraine to share knowledge and insight around the use of drones, neither I nor the Secretary of State for Business and Trade have had discussions on the import of drones from Ukraine with our counterparts.

What discussions he has had with representatives of the Scotch Whisky industry on US tariffs.

We have had extensive and regular discussions with representatives of the Scotch Whisky industry throughout our negotiations with the US, as we do in relation to many other markets around the world. This engagement has helped us secure significant tariffs cuts in our other trade deals like with India.

What assessment his Department has made of the potential physical and psychological impact for those who faced financial exclusion from the Covid‑19 Business Support schemes during the pandemic.

Module 10, the final module of the Covid Inquiry, will consider impact on mental health and wellbeing. There was however a wide range of support available to businesses during Covid delivered by the Devolved Administrations in their areas. The Covid-19 Business Support Grant Schemes which the Department for Business and Trade was responsible for, were delivered via Local Authorities across England, included discretionary allocations which allowed each authority to consider applications from those businesses which did not fit the eligibility criteria for the mainstream schemes. The Scottish Government were responsible for Covid Business Support in Scotland.

What assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of investment treaties on net zero policies.

I refer the member of Arbroath and Broughty Ferry to the answer I gave on 12 November 2025 to UIN 88456.

Whether his Department is negotiating a free trade agreement with Greenland.

This government’s top priority is economic growth. We are working with officials to review these negotiations to date, and their alignment with the Government’s wider international and domestic priorities.We have already concluded trade agreements with the US and India, and restarted talks with a number of others including the Gulf, Switzerland and South Korea.Greenland is an important trading partner to the UK and the Government will continue to work closely with Greenland to improve and strengthen our bilateral relationship.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of the UK leaving the EU on availability of workforce in the Scottish hospitality sector.

Government values the contribution that legal migration makes to the UK, not least to important sectors of the Scottish economy such as hospitality.While there has been no specific assessment, there were around 226,000 people working in hospitality in Scotland at the end of last year, which is a 6% increase from December 2019 - a month before the UK left the EU.As part of the Plan for Change, we’re determined to bring net migration down and restore control and order to the immigration system, and it is good to see the hospitality industry employing more people domestically.

What assessment he has made of the impact of the UK leaving the EU on workforce shortages in the construction industry.

The current migration route for employing individuals into the construction industry is through Skilled Worker Visas.DBT and industry has worked with the Home Office (HO) to provide clearer guidance to construction employers on the Sponsor Licence process. The construction industry also worked with Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) to add in-demand construction occupations to the Shortage Occupation List.Following publication of the Immigration White Paper DBT is working with the HO and the MAC to feed into priority occupations that should be considered for the Temporary Shortage List while building investment in the training of the domestic workforce.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of the UK's departure from the European Union on trends in the level of UK trade.

The EU is a significant trading partner for both goods and services, but it is clear that the current deal is not working well enough. In the 12 months ending September 2024, the UK’s total trade with the EU was 5% below the level seen in 2018, after removing the effect of inflation and excluding precious metals. We will continue to work with our European friends to improve the UK’s trade and investment relationship with the EU, tearing down unnecessary barriers to trade to help drive growth.

Pursuant to the Answer of 15 November 2024 to Question 13191 on Exports: Ukraine, which Departments he is waiting to receive advice on before concluding this export licence application; and what steps his Department is taking to hasten advice.

The Export Control Joint Unit (ECJU) is comprised of experts in the Department for Business and Trade (DBT), the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) and the Ministry of Defence (MOD). The FCDO advises DBT on the situation in country and the risks this poses with respect to the UK's export control responsibilities. The MOD advises DBT on the risks of diversion of exported goods and national security risks arising from hostile state activity. As the decision-making authority for all export licensing decisions DBT takes advice from both Departments and is in daily contact with them where necessary to ensure that process happens as quickly as possible. Exporters are advised in the first instance to contact the ECJU Licensing Unit, as they will be able to provide further updates on the progress of their applications and comment on any specific cases they would like to raise.

How many export licence applications related to Ukraine are still being assessed (a) three months and (b) six months after submission.

The processing of all export licence applications to Ukraine is being prioritised by ECJU. Within that process, applications for the export of equipment organised between the UK Government and the government of Ukraine through Ministry of Defence procurement mechanisms are given the highest priority.As with all export licence applications, assessments are made on a case-by-case basis according to the Strategic Export Licensing Criteria. Assessments for Ukraine, given the situation within the country and the nature of the goods often being exported, mean these cases are some of the most complex for ECJU to process. Therefore, some can take longer to process than our public targets (to conclude 70% of standard individual export licence (SIEL) applications within 20 working days and 99% within 60 working days).The volume of live applications changes daily, but the Government release statistics on export licensing decisions and processing times regularly and these can be broken down by end destination. The most recent statistics cover the period April to June 2024 and were published on 12 December. In that period, 36 (72%) SIELs for Ukraine were responded to within 20 working days and 45 (90%) were responded to within 60 working days.

What recent progress his Department has made on assessing the export application for Ukraine with ECO reference SIE2024/004708 and SPIRE document reference 4388747, submitted on 14 May 2024; and whether any further steps are required to bring this application to conclusion.

We rigorously assess every application on a case-by-case basis against strict assessment criteria, the Strategic Export Licensing Criteria (the SELC). We are reviewing this case with other government departments and we will conclude our assessment once we receive that advice.

If he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the UK's commitments under investor-state dispute settlement mechanisms on (a) environmental and (b) human rights protections in partner countries.

The UK is party to 83 Bilateral Investment Treaties and the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership that contain Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS). ISDS provides an independent means to resolve disputes with states where investors believe they have experienced arbitrary, discriminatory or unfair treatment or expropriation without compensation. ISDS does not remove governments’ right to regulate in the public interest, including with respect to the environment and human rights.

What recent assessment he has made of the potential impact of the investor-state dispute settlement measures in the Colombia-UK Bilateral Investment Treaty on the upholding of (a) environmental and (b) human rights protections in Colombia.

I refer the Hon. Member for Arbroath and Broughty Ferry to my response to Question 12968 on 12th November 2024: https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2024-11-06/12968