Business and Trade Committee

CommonsSelectest. 17 Oct 2016Email ↗● Actively Monitored
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Sessions analysed48
Commitments78
Positions190
Recommendations190

Latest Signals

14 Jul 2026Regulation should be outcome-focused and proportionateFinancial Reporting CouncilPosition
“[Q41] [Speaker: Alison Griffiths] As chair, what instructions will you be giving to both your non-execs and your executives? You will obviously have the CEOs and CFOs of different businesses under your purview. How will you get them to see your point of view? [Speaker: Dame Jayne-Anne Gadhia] Well, it might be more about me seeing their point of view, if you see what I mean. For me, I really like when complex things can be explained simply. I am somebody who will say, “Why do we want to do that? We are doing that for what purpose?” Sometimes it is hard for people to explain the reason they are doing things, but provided that people can explain the reason that we want to achieve something, whether that is in any business, through regulation or indeed through any stakeholders, I think it is much easier to align.”
14 Jul 2026FRC should have stronger information powersFinancial Reporting CouncilPosition
14 Jul 2026Growth and regulation can be balancedFinancial Reporting CouncilPosition
14 Jul 2026Audit quality and transparency are the key lessons from CarillionFinancial Reporting CouncilPosition
14 Jul 2026AI and cyber-security are key future risksFinancial Reporting CouncilPosition
14 Jul 2026Investigations averaging 33 months need reviewFinancial Reporting CouncilConcern
14 Jul 2026Statutory footing needed for funding and data accessFinancial Reporting CouncilPosition
14 Jul 2026Audit reform not essential if FRC keeps improvingFinancial Reporting CouncilPosition

Recent Sessions

View all (48)
14 Jul 2026FRC chair hearing: audit reform, powers and AI
1 commit8 pos1 concern
08 Jul 2026AI, workforce and sovereignty: committee evidence
1 commit7 pos6 concern3 rec1 leg
07 Jul 2026DBT: growth strategy, business costs and trade
11 commit7 pos6 concern
30 Jun 2026China strategy, trade defence and forced labour
4 commit10 pos6 concern2 rec
23 Jun 2026Consumer protection: online marketplaces and unsafe goods
1 commit5 concern2 rec1 disag2 leg
16 Jun 2026AI diffusion: business, SMEs and public sector
4 pos2 concern4 rec

Recent Commitments

View all (78)

Recent Recommendations

View all (190)

Frequent Witnesses

Department for Business and Trade17× · 129 insights
TheCityUK4× · 10 insights
Competition and Markets Authority3× · 16 insights
Which?3× · 14 insights
Confederation of British Industry3× · 10 insights
techUK3× · 8 insights

About this committee

The Commons Business and Trade Committee scrutinises the work of the Department for Business and Trade, commercial policy, consumer affairs, and competition matters. Operating as a select committee with power to take oral evidence from ministers, officials, and external witnesses, it conducts inquiries on issues affecting UK business competitiveness and trade relationships. Recent work has focused on China-UK economic relations and business perspectives on engagement with Beijing, examined artificial intelligence's impact on the workforce and business operations through witness panels, and investigated Royal Mail's universal service obligation performance and potential reform. The committee has also held sessions on trade negotiations with the US and EU, questioned the CMA Chair appointment regarding the balance between competition enforcement and business growth, and scrutinised consumer protection frameworks and the Competition and Markets Authority's pricing oversight. Additional inquiries have addressed UK-US trade deal investment protections and regulatory standards alignment, and assessed the logistical and industry impacts of the EU Trade Reset initiative.