Department for Business and Trade written question – answered at on 5 November 2025.
Max Wilkinson
Liberal Democrat Spokesperson (Home Affairs)
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if he plans to take legislative steps to place a statutory duty on leaders in the (a) public and (b) private sectors to embed (i) inclusive governance and (ii) protective leadership practices.
Blair McDougall
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Companies Act 2006 requires directors to have regard to employee interests and to the impact of the company’s operations on the community and the environment. The UK Corporate Governance Code includes provisions that support inclusive governance, including mechanisms to enable the workforce to engage with directors and for workers to raise concerns in confidence. The Public Sector Equality Duty in the Equality Act 2010 requires public authorities, and those carrying out public functions, to have due regard to the need to eliminate discrimination, advance equality of opportunity, and foster good relations between different people.
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Secretary of State was originally the title given to the two officials who conducted the Royal Correspondence under Elizabeth I. Now it is the title held by some of the more important Government Ministers, for example the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.