Asked by: Anna Gelderd (Labour - South East Cornwall)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, what assessment he has made of whether the existing statutory guidance under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 provides sufficient clarity for consumers and independent used vehicle dealers on what constitutes a fault significant enough to justify rejection of a vehicle.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Minister of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade)
No specific assessment has been made. The statutory guidance for the Consumer Rights Act 2015 is general in nature, but specific guidance does exist for both consumers and businesses in the motoring sector.
The Motor Ombudsman, in conjunction with the Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI), publishes a series of Codes of Practice under the Approved Codes Scheme for consumers covering vehicle sales, warranties, service and repair.
CTSI also publishes specific Business Education guidance for businesses operating in the sector. Amongst others, this guidance covers application of the CRA to the motoring sector in detail. Consumers can also access this information.
Asked by: Anna Gelderd (Labour - South East Cornwall)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, what guidance is available to consumers and used vehicle dealers on when repair is an appropriate remedy for minor defects under the Consumer Rights Act 2015.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Minister of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade)
No specific assessment has been made. The statutory guidance for the Consumer Rights Act 2015 is general in nature, but specific guidance does exist for both consumers and businesses in the motoring sector.
The Motor Ombudsman, in conjunction with the Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI), publishes a series of Codes of Practice under the Approved Codes Scheme for consumers covering vehicle sales, warranties, service and repair.
CTSI also publishes specific Business Education guidance for businesses operating in the sector. Amongst others, this guidance covers application of the CRA to the motoring sector in detail. Consumers can also access this information.
Asked by: Anna Gelderd (Labour - South East Cornwall)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what comparative analysis his Department has made of the use of virtual-only Annual General Meeting practices in (a) the United States, (b) the European Union and (c) other major financial centres.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade) (Jointly with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The government has committed to clarifying the law in relation to fully virtual Annual General Meetings (AGMs). 85% of OECD Factbook countries already allow virtual AGMs, including the United States, most European Union countries, and other major financial centres, such as Japan.
Officials are engaging with investors and business on the practicalities of this, and our Modernising Corporate Reporting programme will include consideration of the shareholder safeguards that should accompany this change. This will ensure that fully virtual meetings only take place where shareholders agree, preserving the option for physical or hybrid attendance where it is shareholders’ preferred format.
A full assessment of fully virtual AGMs as part of the consultation, is due to be published shortly.
Asked by: Anna Gelderd (Labour - South East Cornwall)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps he is taking to ensure that the modernisation of Annual General Meeting formats preserves the option for physical attendance.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade) (Jointly with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The government has committed to clarifying the law in relation to fully virtual Annual General Meetings (AGMs). 85% of OECD Factbook countries already allow virtual AGMs, including the United States, most European Union countries, and other major financial centres, such as Japan.
Officials are engaging with investors and business on the practicalities of this, and our Modernising Corporate Reporting programme will include consideration of the shareholder safeguards that should accompany this change. This will ensure that fully virtual meetings only take place where shareholders agree, preserving the option for physical or hybrid attendance where it is shareholders’ preferred format.
A full assessment of fully virtual AGMs as part of the consultation, is due to be published shortly.
Asked by: Anna Gelderd (Labour - South East Cornwall)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether his Department plans to review the (a) definition of micro-entity and (b) level of support available to mico-entities.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade) (Jointly with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government uplifted the monetary thresholds for determining a company is a micro-entity, for the purposes of audit and accounts by 50% in legislation that came into force in April this year. The Department does not plan to revisit this definition.
As part of "Backing Your Business - our Plan for SMEs", the Government is making thriving micro, small, medium-sized businesses a reality through a package of legislative reforms to: tackle late payments; unblock billions in finance to support investment; remove unnecessary red tape; revitalise High Streets; and deliver support for digital and AI adoption through a new Business Growth Service.
Asked by: Anna Gelderd (Labour - South East Cornwall)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure Royal Mail complies with its legal obligations on the delivery of post.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade) (Jointly with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Universal Service Obligation requires Royal Mail to deliver letters six days a week and parcels five days a week to every address in the UK at a uniform price.
Ofcom, as the independent regulator of postal services, is responsible for monitoring Royal Mail’s performance and ensuring that Royal Mail complies with its legal obligations. It sets Royal Mail enforceable targets to deliver a certain proportion of items on time each year. Ofcom takes compliance with its regulatory targets seriously and this involves conducting thorough investigations where failures have been identified.
In October, Ofcom fined Royal Mail ÂŁ21 million for failing to meet its quality-of-service targets and has told Royal Mail it must urgently publish and deliver a credible plan that delivers major and continuous improvement.
Asked by: Anna Gelderd (Labour - South East Cornwall)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether his Department plans to introduce legislation to ban the importation of goods produced in Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.
Answered by Douglas Alexander - Secretary of State for Scotland
The UK Government has a clear position that Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories are illegal under international law. Goods originating in these settlements are not entitled to benefit from preferential tariff treatment under the UK's current trade agreements with the Palestinian Authority and Israel.
There are clear risks related to economic and financial activities in the settlements, and we do not encourage or offer support to such activity. UK Government guidance equips individuals and businesses to make their own informed choices regarding such commercial activities.
Asked by: Anna Gelderd (Labour - South East Cornwall)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what processes are in place to help ensure that consumers who submit complaints to Trading Standards through Citizens Advice receive feedback on the outcome of their complaint.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Trading Standards are provided by local authorities who operate independently from central government and make enforcement decisions according to local need.
Trading Standards act in the collective interest of consumers rather than resolving individual matters. In most cases, Trading Standards will not need to contact a complainant directly but will use information provided to prioritise intervention or enforcement action against rogue traders causing the most harm.
Citizens Advice consumer service received over 827,000 contacts in 2023-24. Every contact received by Citizens Advice is logged on a national database, which is accessible by consumer enforcement agencies, including local Trading Standards, to analyse trends and inform their enforcement activities.
Asked by: Anna Gelderd (Labour - South East Cornwall)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps he is taking to help ensure that the Trading Standards system meets consumer needs.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Trading Standards are provided by local authorities who operate independently from central government and make enforcement decisions according to local need.
Trading Standards act in the collective interest of consumers rather than resolving individual matters. In most cases, Trading Standards will not need to contact a complainant directly but will use information provided to prioritise intervention or enforcement action against rogue traders causing the most harm.
Citizens Advice consumer service received over 827,000 contacts in 2023-24. Every contact received by Citizens Advice is logged on a national database, which is accessible by consumer enforcement agencies, including local Trading Standards, to analyse trends and inform their enforcement activities.
Asked by: Anna Gelderd (Labour - South East Cornwall)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether he has made an assessment of the adequacy of the Trading Standards complaints process.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Trading Standards are provided by local authorities who operate independently from central government and make enforcement decisions according to local need.
Trading Standards act in the collective interest of consumers rather than resolving individual matters. In most cases, Trading Standards will not need to contact a complainant directly but will use information provided to prioritise intervention or enforcement action against rogue traders causing the most harm.
Citizens Advice consumer service received over 827,000 contacts in 2023-24. Every contact received by Citizens Advice is logged on a national database, which is accessible by consumer enforcement agencies, including local Trading Standards, to analyse trends and inform their enforcement activities.