Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether UK Government Investments has made a request to Post Office Limited to (a) proceed with moving all directly managed branches to a fully franchised model and (b) expedite the shift of directly managed branches that have previously been earmarked to be moved to a fully franchised model since 5 July 2024.
Answered by Gareth Thomas - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Nigel Railton, the Post Office Chair, has set out his ambitions for the future of the Post Office, which involves a reduction in central costs and other ways to deliver efficiencies, plus steps to improve the commercial future of the business in order to enable real term increases in postmaster pay. No decisions have yet been taken on the future of any individual Directly Managed Branches (DMBs) as part of this plan. The Government will continue to work closely with Post Office as they develop their transformation plan. In the meantime, we expect the Post Office to fully engage and consult with the Unions and postmaster representative bodies about future options for the DMBs.
Decisions about franchising are an operational matter for Post Office Limited. The Government is broadly supportive of POL’s transformation plan, including the aim of increasing postmaster pay, however neither the Department nor UKGI, acting as the Shareholder representative on the Board of Post Office Limited, have made the requests referred to in the question.
The Post Office will continue to deliver on the 11,500 minimum branch requirement set by Government.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether his Department has made representations with the Post Office to (a) proceed with moving all directly managed branches to a fully franchised model and (b) expedite the shift of directly managed branches that have previously been earmarked to be moved to a fully franchised model since 5 July 2024.
Answered by Gareth Thomas - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Nigel Railton, the Post Office Chair, has set out his ambitions for the future of the Post Office, which involves a reduction in central costs and other ways to deliver efficiencies, plus steps to improve the commercial future of the business in order to enable real term increases in postmaster pay. No decisions have yet been taken on the future of any individual Directly Managed Branches (DMBs) as part of this plan. The Government will continue to work closely with Post Office as they develop their transformation plan. In the meantime, we expect the Post Office to fully engage and consult with the Unions and postmaster representative bodies about future options for the DMBs.
Decisions about franchising are an operational matter for Post Office Limited. The Government is broadly supportive of POL’s transformation plan, including the aim of increasing postmaster pay, however neither the Department nor UKGI, acting as the Shareholder representative on the Board of Post Office Limited, have made the requests referred to in the question.
The Post Office will continue to deliver on the 11,500 minimum branch requirement set by Government.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether she has had discussions with car manufacturers on levels of disruption to supply chains for (a) temperature sensors and (b) other spare parts for electric vehicles since Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Answered by Alan Mak - Shadow Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
HMG understands the concerns of the Automotive industry regarding the potential impact of the invasion on its business operations and supply chains worldwide. The Department for Business and Trade ministers regularly meet with sector bodies and auto manufacturers to discuss a variety of automotive related trade issues, including an understanding of any direct and indirect impacts on UK operations.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of requiring manufacturers to provide information to consumers of (a) cars and (b) other high value products on the extent to which repairs for those products are reliant on critical metals that are affected by supply-side disruption as a result of the war in Ukraine.
Answered by Alan Mak - Shadow Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
Currently manufacturers are only legally required to provide consumers with information on fuel consumption and CO2 emissions, for new cars and vans at the point of sale. There are no obligations on manufacturers to provide information on where the materials are sourced and no assessment has been made of the potential merits of doing so. The UK Critical Minerals Strategy, published in July 2022, sets out steps for ensuring the long-term security of critical minerals like those needed for electric vehicle batteries.
The Government understands the concerns of the automotive industry regarding the potential impact of the invasion on its business operations and supply chains worldwide. We are in regular dialogue with UK auto manufacturers and business representative bodies to understand any direct and indirect impacts on UK operations, including trade related issues.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if he will take steps to introduce an ownership transparency register for land and buildings in town centres.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Shadow Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
This is an area in which there is already a high level of transparency. HM Land Registry holds publicly accessible records of the registered proprietors of land and buildings in England and Wales.
If the registered proprietor is a UK company or an overseas entity, information about the company and its people with significant control, or, in the case of an overseas entity, its beneficial owners, is publicly available from Companies House.
Further measures to enhance land transparency are being brought forward by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities via the Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill, currently passing through Parliament.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 3 February to Question 136862 on Disease Control, what the cost to the public purse was of the two mobile UV irradiation units deployed at 1 Victoria Street.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Shadow Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
The cost to the public purse of the two mobile UV irradiation units deployed at 1 Victoria Street was £1358, excluding VAT.