Asked by: Chris Hinchliff (Labour - North East Hertfordshire)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether he plans to take steps to recover the costs of compensation from Fujitsu relating to failures of the Horizon Post Office IT system.
Answered by Gareth Thomas - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government welcomes Fujitsu’s acknowledgement of their moral obligation to make a contribution to the cost of the Horizon scandal. Fujitsu’s contribution will be decided once the Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry has reviewed all the evidence and the Chair has delivered his report.
Asked by: Chris Hinchliff (Labour - North East Hertfordshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his counterpart in Israel on hostages in Gaza.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Securing an immediate ceasefire and the safe release of all hostages, including Emily Damari and three other hostages with strong UK links, remains the UK's top priority. We have continuously supported hostage talks, and continue to work alongside our allies and partners in the region, exercising every possible diplomatic lever to see the hostages immediately released. On 8 December, the Foreign Secretary spoke with his Israeli counterpart, Gideon Sa'ar, and stressed the importance of securing a ceasefire to enable the safe return of Emily Damari and the three other UK-linked hostages and see an end to the war in Gaza.
Asked by: Chris Hinchliff (Labour - North East Hertfordshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department has prepared improvement action plans for rail franchises due to be brought back into public ownership.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
There will be no immediate changes to the specifications of services at the point of transfer. All operators will continue to go through an annual planning process with the Department to agree plans for changes to service specifications, performance improvements and other deliverables.
Once transferred, publicly owned operators will be managed by DfT Operator. DfT Operator works closely with its train companies to drive forward improvements for passengers and rail employees through its reform initiatives and it will ensure that its operators continually find better ways to make rail accessible for all.
The Government will not tolerate poor performance and will continue to hold all operators to account, regardless of ownership.