Asked by: Joe Robertson (Conservative - Isle of Wight East)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 18 March 2026 to Question 120645 on Competition and Markets Authority: Costs, what expenditure the Competition and Markets Authority has incurred on (a) consultants, (b) research and (c) external contracts in support of the Sustainability Taskforce since its establishment.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Competition and Markets Authority (“CMA”) has not incurred expenditure on (a) consultants, (b) research and (c) external contracts in support of the Sustainability Taskforce.
Since its establishment, the expenditure for the Sustainability Taskforce is as follows:
FY | Staff Costs | Non-Staff Costs | Total Cost | Full-Time Equivalent |
2023-24 | £418,715.01 | £3,335.36 | £422,050.37 | 5.4 |
2024-25 | £342,306.01 | £677.18 | £342,983.19 | 3.9 |
Non-staff costs cover other programme expenditure such as travel and subsistence.
Asked by: David Williams (Labour - Stoke-on-Trent North)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what safeguards are being put in place to ensure that forthcoming changes to the Universal Service Obligation do not further disadvantage constituents who rely on the timely delivery of essential correspondence, including medical notices and legal documents.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Ofcom, as the independent regulator, has a statutory duty to secure the provision of a universal service that meets the reasonable needs of users and to consider the impacts of any changes to the Universal Service Obligation. Ofcom conducted extensive research and public consultation ahead of the decision to change the requirements and has stated that it will continue to monitor quality of service closely and hold Royal Mail to account for improving reliability as reforms are implemented.
Royal Mail has publicly committed to publishing a detailed deployment and quality of service improvement plan as soon as possible following the conclusion of its discussions with the Communication Workers Union.
Asked by: Juliet Campbell (Labour - Broxtowe)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps his Department is taking to address the increase in missed deliveries against targets by the Royal Mail.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Ofcom, the independent regulator for postal services, monitors and assesses Royal Mail’s provision of the universal service. It can investigate and take enforcement action should Royal Mail fail to achieve its obligations without good justification.
I met Royal Mail’s CEO, Alistair Cochrane, on 3 February to press him on the action Royal Mail is taking to make demonstrable improvements to service levels as a matter of urgency. I will continue to raise concerns with Royal Mail if the company’s quality of service does not improve.
Royal Mail has publicly committed to publishing a detailed deployment and quality of service improvement plan as soon as possible following the conclusion of its discussions with the Communication Workers Union.
Asked by: David Williams (Labour - Stoke-on-Trent North)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps he is taking to ensure Royal Mail improves first- and second‑class delivery performance following Ofcom’s recent findings and fines.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Ofcom, as the independent regulator, is responsible for setting and enforcing Royal Mail’s service standards. I met senior officials from Ofcom on 11 March.
I met Royal Mail’s CEO, Alistair Cochrane, on 3 February to press him on making demonstrable improvements to service levels as a matter of urgency. I will continue to raise concerns with Royal Mail if the company’s quality of service does not improve.
Royal Mail has publicly committed to publishing a detailed deployment and quality of service improvement plan as soon as possible following the conclusion of its discussions with the Communication Workers Union.
Asked by: David Williams (Labour - Stoke-on-Trent North)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment his Department has made of Royal Mail’s failure to meet its Universal Service Obligation delivery targets in each of the past three years.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The government has been clear that Royal Mail’s service has not been good enough.
Ofcom, as the independent regulator, is responsible for assessing Royal Mail’s compliance with Universal Service Obligation delivery targets. Following investigations into Royal Mail’s performance, Ofcom has taken enforcement action, including issuing financial penalties, where it found that service levels were not met without sufficient justification. It issued a fine of £5.6m for 2022/23, a fine of £10.5m for 2023/24 and a fine of £21m for 2024/25.
Asked by: Will Forster (Liberal Democrat - Woking)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps his department is taking to help ensure that businesses sympathetically consider when their customers are receiving palliative care in debt recovery and repossession cases.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government recognises the importance of responsible and fair practices for debt recovery and understands the negative impact that aggressive or wrongful pursuit of debt can have on individuals. Firms which collect on consumer credit agreements or mortgages must be regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) which expects firms to treat customers fairly and has a range of supervisory and enforcement tools to address breaches of its rules. The FCA also requires that firms consider customer vulnerability, including health conditions, to ensure staff have the right skills and capability to respond.
The Government also has a number of measures in place to help people to avoid repossession, as well as providing protection in the courts through the Pre-Action Protocol, which makes it clear that repossession must always be the last resort for lenders.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether the Insolvency Service and its nominated receiver are taking to ensure the retention of emails held by Global Counsel.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
When a company enters administration, independent Insolvency Practitioners take control of its business and property. Administrators are responsible for securing and reviewing company records to understand the company’s affairs and carry out the administration. Within three months, administrators must submit a directors’ conduct report to the Insolvency Service. If an investigation is warranted, the Insolvency Service will obtain records from the administrators.
Asked by: Baroness Finn (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government, with regard to the Horizon Shortfall Scheme Appeal contract with Addleshaw Goddard LLP, as listed in Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for government’s most important contracts: data for July to September 2025, published on 25 December 2025, why increasing the percentage of female partners by 2 per cent over the contract period is a KPI for delivery of that contract.
Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Under the 2020 Procurement Policy Note (since updated) departments must explicitly evaluate Social Value (SV) in most procurements above the relevant financial threshold, where it is related and proportionate to the contract, to ensure that public spending delivers wider economic, social and environmental benefits alongside the goods or services being purchased. The policy note also mandates an appropriate KPI.
The Government’s SV Model provided a menu of outcomes aligned to government priorities. The outcome selected was tackling inequality in the supplier’s workforce which included focus on women in shortlists for recruitment and promotions, with the chosen KPI aligning to that.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps he is taking to support the creation of well-paid jobs in Surrey Heath constituency.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Department for Business and Trade is supporting the creation of jobs and opportunities across the UK, including in the Surrey Heath constituency. We are doing this by supporting small and medium sized businesses to export, including developing a new Business Growth Service to simplify finding the advice and support they need. We are also supporting high streets by delivering long overdue reforms to rebalance the business rates system. We have also developed the UK’s Modern Industrial Strategy and are investing in growth sectors like life sciences, advanced manufacturing and digital technologies.
Asked by: Tessa Munt (Liberal Democrat - Wells and Mendip Hills)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if he has made an assessment of the potential impact the European Commission’s plan to introduce new EU export trade measures on the UK’s aluminium recycling industry; and if he is seeking an exemption from those new regulations.
Answered by Chris McDonald - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Department for Business and Trade has not made a formal assessment of the potential impact of these EU measures on the UK's aluminium recycling industry. We are closely monitoring this through ongoing industry engagement and expect to consider this further through the Business Secretary’s Industry Engagement Forum and the scrap metal working group announced in the Steel Strategy, which will also cover aluminium.
The EU is not currently enforcing aluminium export restrictions. The proposed new measures focus on restricting the export of aluminium scrap, rather than primary aluminium, with the aim of supporting domestic industry, decarbonisation, and circular‑economy objectives.