Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps his Department is taking to tackle financial scams committed by online firms.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Supporting law enforcement in combatting online fraud and other economic crimes, my Department, through its sponsored bodies, plays a critical role in supplying data on UK registered commercial entities to assist investigations and prosecutions.
Companies House and the Insolvency Service work closely with the National Economic Crime Centre and similar agencies to identify threats and trends to facilitate UK law enforcement in preventing and closing down such scams at the earliest opportunity.
Through the Consumer Protection Partnership, we raise awareness about how to spot, avoid and report scams. The Scams Awareness Campaign recently run by Citizens Advice had particular focus on the top financial scams: fake debt advice; friend in need scams; investment scams; pension scams; and parking QR code scams
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the application of the Consumer Rights Act 2015.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The consumer rights framework is kept under review to ensure it continues to provide effective consumer protection.
For example, the department is implementing the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 which strengthens enforcement of this framework by giving the CMA new direct enforcement powers and the CMA and court enforcers the ability to impose significant monetary penalties where necessary.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps he is taking to support rural post offices.
Answered by Gareth Thomas - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
There are over 11,500 post office branches in the UK – over half are in rural areas – which the Government supports through an annual £50m network subsidy to ensure the viability of rural and community branches.
Government further works to ensure Post Office Limited maintains a minimum number of branches and a geographical spread of branches in line with published access criteria. The access criteria ensure that however the network changes, services remain within local reach of all citizens.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps he is taking to help ensure that post offices in South Suffolk constituency remain financially viable businesses entities.
Answered by Gareth Thomas - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Post Office is an essential service in communities across the country. The Government is committed to finding ways to strengthen the Post Office, through consulting with sub-postmasters, trade unions and customers. This will include supporting the development of new products, services and business models, such as banking hubs, that will help reinvigorate the high street.
Government provides an annual £50m Network Subsidy funding to support the delivery of a minimum number of branches and a geographical spread of branches in line with published access criteria.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what discussions he has had with the Post Office Ltd on cutting exceptional payments for post offices.
Answered by Gareth Thomas - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
While publicly owned, Post Office, as a commercial business with its own Board, operates at arm’s length from the Government. Therefore, the issue around exceptional payments is an operational matter for the Post Office.
The Post Office has however informed my officials that they have taken the decision to pause making further changes to exceptional payments until later this autumn.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to the £3.5 billion defence export finance deal for Ukraine, announced on 18 July 2024, what percentage of UK- (a) manufactured and (b) originated content will be required for (i) goods and (ii) services purchased under the arrangement to qualify for support.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
More than two years since the illegal invasion of Ukraine, the UK continues to stand resolutely with the Ukrainian people against Russian aggression.
£3.5 billion is the total capacity UK Export Finance (UKEF) has to support transactions with Ukraine. It is already in place for support for eligible transactions, including any future transactions entered into under the new treaty. All transactions are subject to UKEF’s regular due diligence and approvals processes.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to the £3.5 billion defence export finance deal for Ukraine, announced on 18 July 2024, whether any (a) goods and (b) services are excluded from the funding arrangement.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
More than two years since the illegal invasion of Ukraine, the UK continues to stand resolutely with the Ukrainian people against Russian aggression.
£3.5 billion is the total capacity UK Export Finance (UKEF) has to support transactions with Ukraine. It is already in place for support for eligible transactions, including any future transactions entered into under the new treaty. All transactions are subject to UKEF’s regular due diligence and approvals processes.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to the £3.5 billion defence export finance deal for Ukraine, announced on 18 July 2024, whether that funding is additional funding on top of pre-existing levels of export finance support from the UK to Ukraine.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
More than two years since the illegal invasion of Ukraine, the UK continues to stand resolutely with the Ukrainian people against Russian aggression.
£3.5 billion is the total capacity UK Export Finance (UKEF) has to support transactions with Ukraine. It is already in place for support for eligible transactions, including any future transactions entered into under the new treaty. All transactions are subject to UKEF’s regular due diligence and approvals processes.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to the £3.5 billion defence export finance deal for Ukraine, announced on 18 July 2024, what his planned timetable is for making the additional finance available.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
More than two years since the illegal invasion of Ukraine, the UK continues to stand resolutely with the Ukrainian people against Russian aggression.
£3.5 billion is the total capacity UK Export Finance (UKEF) has to support transactions with Ukraine. It is already in place for support for eligible transactions, including any future transactions entered into under the new treaty. All transactions are subject to UKEF’s regular due diligence and approvals processes.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to the £3.5 billion defence export finance deal for Ukraine, announced on 18 July 2024, whether the finance provided will be subject to UK Export Finance’s Transition Export Development Guarantee.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
UK Export Finance's Export Development Guarantee product helps companies who export from, or plan to export from the UK, access high value loan facilities for general working capital or capital expenditure purposes. The risk associated with this product remains centred in the UK, and consequently does not impact UKEF’s market limit for Ukraine.