“To ask the hon. Member for South West Bedfordshire, representing the Church Commissioners, what progress the Church of England has made on increasing the number of ordinands by 50 per cent.”
Answering Minister
the Member for South West Bedfordshire, representing the Church Commissioners
Answer from Hansard
The Secretary of State for Business and Trade (Jonathan Reynolds)
As we have heard, the US is our largest single country trading partner, with total trade worth £315 billion in 2024, representing 18% of total UK trade. More than a million Americans work for UK-owned businesses and vice versa. We have regular and ongoing constructive negotiations with our US counterparts, including some this week, on securing a wider economic deal to benefit UK businesses and our economy. In those talks, we continually push the case for free and open trade. Nobody wants to see a trade war, so our focus is on keeping calm and continuing to negotiate in the interest of UK businesses and consumers.