Asked by: Geoffrey Cox (Conservative - Torridge and Tavistock)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps he is taking to ensure that rural hospitality businesses are adequately supported in the context of (a) rising wholesale food prices, (b) energy costs, (c) increased (i) wage and (ii) NIC pressures and (d) insurance premiums.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Government fully recognises the importance of hospitality businesses in rural communities, that’s why we’re providing support through a range of measures to ease pressures.
We continue to monitor key agricultural commodities and work with the hospitality sector, supported by the UK Agriculture Market Monitoring Group, which tracks prices, supply, inputs, trade, and recent developments. The Zero Carbon Services Hospitality trial offers free energy and carbon-reduction advice. We will introduce permanently lower business rates for Retail, Hospitality and Leisure properties with a rateable value under £500,000. The Employment Allowance has been increased to £10,500, meaning 865,000 employers will pay no National Insurance Contributions enabling businesses to employ up to four full-time staff on the National Living Wage without incurring employer NIC costs. While insurers make commercial decisions based on risk assessments, the Financial Conduct Authority requires firms to offer fair value and monitors compliance, acting where necessary.
Asked by: Geoffrey Cox (Conservative - Torridge and Tavistock)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether his Department has considered providing access to post boxes in new housing developments.
Answered by Justin Madders
The government is not responsible for providing access to post boxes.
Section 29(6) of the Postal Services Act 2011 requires Ofcom, as the independent regulator, to secure the provision of sufficient access points.
Royal Mail is currently required by Ofcom’s Designated Universal Service Provider (DUSP) condition 1.8.1 to provide a post box within half a mile, by straight line distance, of the premises of at least 98% of users of postal services.
Asked by: Geoffrey Cox (Conservative - Torridge and Tavistock)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what discussions the Minister of State for Enterprise, Markets and Small Business has had with Post Office Ltd on the decision to reduce the remuneration period for subpostmasters with Hard to Place post offices; and what steps he is taking to ensure sufficient compensation and support for affected subpostmasters during the transition period.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake
I and my officials meet regularly with Post Office Ltd to discuss a range of issues of mutual interest, including Hard to Place Postmasters. I also chair a regular working group between the National Federation of SubPostmasters and Post Office to discuss a range of issues affecting postmasters.
Whilst the level of compensation offered to Hard to Place postmasters represents a commercial matter for Post Office to determine, the Government supports Post Office Limited's attempts to resolve the situation. The previous situation was more detrimental to all parties involved as individuals were holding on, as they had for a number of years already, in the hope that they would get compensation that might not have materialised.