Asked by: Lord Blencathra (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government, following reports of recent deaths in Cambridge caused by an e-bike battery catching fire, what steps they will take to ban the importation of e-bike and e-scooter batteries which do not have the UL2271 battery certification.
Answered by Earl of Minto - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) was notified of this incident by the National Fire Chiefs Council. OPSS are liaising with Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service and Trading Standards to provide support and to obtain details regarding the product to enable a follow up investigation to take place.
UK law requires that all consumer products must be safe before being placed on the UK market. Where products are identified that do not meet the UK’s product safety requirements, OPSS works with local Trading Standards to quickly remove them from the market.
Asked by: Lord Blencathra (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what compensation will be paid to the descendants of postmasters who have died or taken their own life as a result of their wrongful conviction for fraud.
Answered by Earl of Minto - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
In the unfortunate event of a postmaster passing away, claims for compensation can be taken forward by appropriate representatives (with evidence of the legal relationship to the eligible postmaster). This is the case whether a claim is made to the Group Litigation Order (GLO) compensation scheme (run by Government); a claim is made to the Historical Shortfall Scheme (HSS) compensation scheme (run by Post Office) or a claim is made to Post Office for compensation for a postmaster who had a conviction which was overturned.
Asked by: Lord Blencathra (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to pursue criminal prosecutions against former Post Office senior managers who may have knowingly pursued postmasters for frauds they did not commit.
Answered by Earl of Minto - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Government has set up a statutory inquiry into the Post Office Horizon scandal. Collective and individual accountability for the scandal can only be considered when the Inquiry has reviewed all of the evidence.