Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of the Fireworks Regulations 2004 in protecting (a) people and (b) animals from negative impacts of fireworks.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The current regulatory framework is designed to support people to enjoy fireworks whilst lowering the risk of dangers and disruption to people, pets, and property. The Government recently launched an awareness campaign on the Gov.uk website to provide guidance on minimising the impacts of fireworks on people and animals.
To inform any future decisions on the legislative framework, the Government intends to engage with stakeholders to gather evidence on the issues and impacts of fireworks.
Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether her Department plans to host a further investment summit in Northern Ireland.
Answered by Greg Hands
The Northern Ireland Investment Summit was approved by our current Prime Minister when he was the Chancellor of the Exchequer.
Currently there are no plans for another Summit, but we are working to ensure a strong legacy from it, including linked activity such as the No. 10 hosted Venture Capital Roundtable, aimed at encouraging venture capital investment into Northern Ireland.
We also offered support for Joe Kennedy III’s incoming mission to Northern Ireland in October 2023 (US Special Economic Envoy to Northern Ireland).
Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what recent discussions she has had with Royal Mail on the impact on consumers of the rise of the cost of postal services.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Shadow Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
The Government does not have a role in Royal Mail’s commercial decisions, including the prices of stamps and other services.
In setting its prices, Royal Mail must observe the regulatory framework set by Ofcom which imposes prices controls, ‘safeguard caps’, on certain second-class products to ensure a basic universal service is available to all at affordable prices.
Ofcom will conduct a public consultation in 2023-24 to inform a review of the safeguard caps that should apply from April 2024.