Asked by: Alexander Stafford (Conservative - Rother Valley)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of a reduction in the Universal Service Obligation to five days on the magazine publishing sector.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government has no current plans to change the statutory minimum requirements of the universal postal service, set out in the Postal Services Act 2011, which requires letter deliveries to every UK address, six days a week at standard price.
There is a clear and transparent process for how changes to the universal postal service should be considered and any change would need to be made through secondary legislation and agreed by Parliament.
Asked by: Alexander Stafford (Conservative - Rother Valley)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he has had recent discussions with Ofcom on reviewing the Universal Service Obligation.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Ministers and officials meet with Ofcom regularly to discuss a range of issues in relation to its role as the regulatory authority for the postal sector, including the provision of the universal service obligation.
The Government currently has no plans to change the minimum requirements of the universal postal service which are set out in the Postal Services Act 2011.
Asked by: Alexander Stafford (Conservative - Rother Valley)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to (a) engage with regulators on and (b) develop a market for investment in green industry.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Net Zero Strategy set out examples of how the Government is working with different regulators, for example on the publication of the Strategic Policy Statement for Ofgem.
The Government is working with regulators including FCA, the Bank of England, and IFRS to roll out climate related disclosures.
Driving investment into UK green energy and industries is a priority for this Government. Since March 2021, the Government has committed £30 billion of domestic green investment. The Government is working to put in place the regulatory frameworks that will spur investment into green projects – such as through the Energy Bill.
Asked by: Alexander Stafford (Conservative - Rother Valley)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to improve (a) procurement and (b) delivery of Net Zero project investment.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Procurement Policy Note PPN06/21 requires suppliers bidding for major government contracts to commit to Net Zero by 2050 and publish a ‘Carbon Reduction Plan’. Over 120 procurements have applied the policy, with a total contract value of over £180billion.
The Government has committed £30billion of public green investment and is putting in place regulatory frameworks to spur green private investment, such as through the Energy Bill. These policies are expected to drive over £100billion of private investment and support 480,000 jobs by 2030.
Asked by: Alexander Stafford (Conservative - Rother Valley)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to UK100's report entitled End the wait. Insulate. Social housing energy efficiency and the energy crisis, published November 2022, what assessment he has made of the impact on his Department's policies of that report's recommendations on a place-based approach to allocating funding for social housing energy efficiency measures.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The 2019 Conservative Manifesto committed to a £3.8bn Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund (SHDF) over a 10-year period to improve the energy performance of social homes. Grant funding allocated to SHDF has totalled over £1bn.
In the Autumn Statement the Government announced £6 billion of new Government funding that will be made available from 2025 to 2028 for energy efficiency. The design of future waves of the SHDF will consider all relevant evidence to ensure effective delivery.
Asked by: Alexander Stafford (Conservative - Rother Valley)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether his Department has held discussions with Royal Mail on the charge of £2.50 made to Rother Valley constituents who have received a letter with a counterfeit stamp attached.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
As a private business, the operation of Royal Mail’s products and services, including extra postage charges to customers where re-used stamps have been detected, is a matter for the company’s management. The Government is not involved in Royal Mail’s commercial or operational decisions.
Royal Mail encourages customers that have come into contact with counterfeit stamps, either buying them or on a letter or parcel received in the mail to report it. Information is available on its website at www.royalmail.com/report-stamp-fraud.
Asked by: Alexander Stafford (Conservative - Rother Valley)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what discussions he has had with Royal Mail on its strategy for stopping counterfeit stamps and stamp fraud.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Department has regular discussions with Royal Mail on a wide range of issues.
As a private business, the Government is not involved in Royal Mail’s strategic or commercial decisions including the company’s strategy for preventing stamp fraud and reporting fraudulent activity to the police.
Asked by: Alexander Stafford (Conservative - Rother Valley)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent discussions he has had with Royal Mail on the reporting of stamp fraud to the police.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Department has regular discussions with Royal Mail on a wide range of issues.
As a private business, the Government is not involved in Royal Mail’s strategic or commercial decisions including the company’s strategy for preventing stamp fraud and reporting fraudulent activity to the police.
Asked by: Alexander Stafford (Conservative - Rother Valley)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what proportion of postage stamps that are used are reported by Royal Mail as counterfeit each year.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
As a private business, the Government is not involved in Royal Mail’s operational or commercial decisions and does not hold this information.
Asked by: Alexander Stafford (Conservative - Rother Valley)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what the estimated financial cost of postage stamp fraud is to (a) Royal Mail and (b) the consumer.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
As a private business, the Government is not involved in Royal Mail’s operational or commercial decisions and does not hold this information.