Asked by: Helen Maguire (Liberal Democrat - Epsom and Ewell)
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 merits of reintroducing the requirement for companies to report their charitable donations.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The requirement for companies to disclose charitable donations in their annual reports was removed in 2013. This decision followed a consultation in which two-thirds of respondents supported its removal, after an impact assessment found no evidence that the requirement increased levels of charitable giving.
Removing reporting that is redundant or duplicative is consistent with our ongoing Non-Financial Reporting Review that aims to streamline and modernise non-financial reporting requirements. A consultation will be published at the end of this year offering respondents an opportunity to comment on non-financial reporting requirements relevant to the Annual Report.
Asked by: Helen Maguire (Liberal Democrat - Epsom and Ewell)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether he has had discussions with Ofcom on the future of Royal Mail's delivery of the Articles for the Blind service.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Section 31 of the Postal Services Act 2011 outlines the minimum requirements of the universal postal service and includes the requirement that free-of-charge postal services are provided to people who are blind or partially sighted.
Earlier this year, I met representatives of Ofcom, who reasserted their commitment to ensuring that the universal postal service meets the reasonable needs of users. The Government has no current plans to change the minimum requirements set out in the legislation.