Asked by: Andrew Lewer (Conservative - Northampton South)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of regulating (a) Evri and (b) other delivery companies which do not meet expected customer service standards.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Shadow Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
The Postal Services Act 2011 designates Ofcom as the independent regulator for the postal sector with the powers to impose and enforce regulatory requirements on postal operators to fulfil its functions in relation to postal services.
In its review of postal regulation in 2022, Ofcom committed to ongoing monitoring of operators’ performance and keep under review the need for additional regulation to protect consumers.
The Government has no plans to seek change to the statutory requirements in this sector.
Asked by: Andrew Lewer (Conservative - Northampton South)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to his Department’s publication entitled Retention payments in the construction industry consultation: summary of responses, published in February 2020, what progress he has made on that document’s next steps, including on the policy options under consideration.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani
The Government continues to work with the Construction Leadership Council to resolve the problems associated with cash retentions. Any policy solution must be a sustainable one that works for the industry and its clients, addressing both the need for surety and fair payment.
The Government is currently consulting on proposals on the inclusion of retention payments under the Reporting on Payment Practices and Performance Regulations 2017.
Other Council work includes supporting a pilot project with the Get It Right Initiative to reduce defects, and collaboration with the bodies responsible for construction contractual documentation to discourage the withholding of retentions.