Asked by: John Redwood (Conservative - Wokingham)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how much public money was allocated to the British Business Bank for the (a) 2023-4 and (b) 2024-5 financial years.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Public funding for the British Business Bank’s DEL funding, Business As Usual programmes and administration of the Covid-19 loan schemes, for 2023/24 is expected to be up to £735m. The projected figure for 2024/25 is £357m. Any capital gains will be returned to the taxpayer over the course of the investment cycle.
Asked by: John Redwood (Conservative - Wokingham)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if she will make a comparative assessment of energy prices for steel production in (a) the UK, (b) China, (c) Germany and (d) the US.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani - Minister of State (Minister for Europe)
Comparisons with energy costs in other countries is one of the considerations for the development and introduction of support for energy intensive industries including the steel sector. The British Industry Supercharger will introduce targeted measures to ensure the energy costs for key UK industries are in line with other major economies around the world – levelling the playing field for British companies across Europe. The government is committed to rolling out its measures between April 2024 and April 2025.
Asked by: John Redwood (Conservative - Wokingham)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether Ministers approved the contracts to implement the Horizon system in Post Offices.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Horizon IT Inquiry considered the procurement of the Horizon IT system during Phase 2. We should wait for the Inquiry to report.
Asked by: John Redwood (Conservative - Wokingham)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps she is taking to improve the profitability of the Post Office.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government is clear that the Post Office should be a valuable social and economic asset for communities and businesses for years to come. To ensure the Post Office is fit for the future, the Government is engaging with stakeholders regarding the challenges facing the post office network and postmasters, resulting from the changing retail landscape and increased costs.
We have provided over £2.5 billion in funding to support the Post Office network over the past decade and is providing a further £588 million for the Post Office between 2022 and 2025. This includes a £50 million annual subsidy to safeguard services in the uncommercial parts of the network.
The Government also recognises that there are concerns about central costs, and we have been clear that Post Office must do more to cut central costs where possible.
The Post Office network is a crucial component of the UK's long-term provision of cash and banking services. That is why we have encouraged Post Office to be ambitious in their negotiations with banks for the next iteration of the Banking Framework agreement to ensure that both Post Office and Postmasters receive proportionate remuneration for the vital services they are providing.
Asked by: John Redwood (Conservative - Wokingham)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether she has made an estimate of the steel required to be imported following the potential closure of UK blast furnaces.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani - Minister of State (Minister for Europe)
We have agreed to invest a historic £500 million at Port Talbot, so we can secure domestic steel production for the long term.
While transitioning to electric arc, Tata plan to temporarily import steel substrates. These materials will then be processed at Tata Steel’s existing UK facilities, continuing to serve customers.
Following the completion of the Electric Arc Furnace, domestic self-sufficiency would increase – from 10% of UK-sourced raw materials today to about three-quarters with an electric arc furnace, making UK steel production more resilient to adverse global events and supply chain risks.
Asked by: John Redwood (Conservative - Wokingham)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of the policy to reduce the sale of (a) petrol and (b) diesel cars by 2030 on the production capacity of the car industry.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani - Minister of State (Minister for Europe)
Given the continued overseas demand for high-quality, UK-built vehicles, changes to policy in the nations we export to are more likely to affect levels of UK car production than changes in domestic policy. Like the UK, policy in key exports markets is toward greater electrification as the global shift to electric vehicles quickens.
Government’s zero emission vehicle (ZEV) mandate will ensure the UK’s share of ZEVs increases, putting our industry at the forefront of new technologies to grow the economy and attracting new inward investment, creating thousands of new jobs.
Asked by: John Redwood (Conservative - Wokingham)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what recent discussions she has had with the Board of the Post Office Ltd on whether Post Office managers received bonuses that were based on profits that were higher due to reclaims from sub postmasters affected by Horizon issues.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
I hold meetings with the Post Office CEO on a monthly basis where we discuss a range of matters related to Horizon.
What Post Office Limited (POL) did with the monies claimed from postmasters due to errors in the Horizon system is a complex matter. We will approach POL and write when we have seen what information is available and in what form. However, Postmasters who paid Post Office money due to errors in the Horizon system will be paid this back as part of their compensation.
Asked by: John Redwood (Conservative - Wokingham)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what recent discussions she has had with the Board of the Post Office Ltd on the amount of money the Post Office reclaimed from sub postmasters affected by the Horizon issues.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
I hold meetings with the Post Office CEO on a monthly basis where we discuss a range of matters related to Horizon.
What Post Office Limited (POL) did with the monies claimed from postmasters due to errors in the Horizon system is a complex matter. We will approach POL and write when we have seen what information is available and in what form. However, Postmasters who paid Post Office money due to errors in the Horizon system will be paid this back as part of their compensation.
Asked by: John Redwood (Conservative - Wokingham)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what recent discussions she has had with the Board of the Post Office Ltd on what the Post Office did with the money it claimed from sub postmasters affected by Horizon issues.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
I hold meetings with the Post Office CEO on a monthly basis where we discuss a range of matters related to Horizon.
What Post Office Limited (POL) did with the monies claimed from postmasters due to errors in the Horizon system is a complex matter. We will approach POL and write when we have seen what information is available and in what form. However, Postmasters who paid Post Office money due to errors in the Horizon system will be paid this back as part of their compensation.
Asked by: John Redwood (Conservative - Wokingham)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what recent discussions she has had with the Board of the Post Office Ltd on the level of provision for (a) repayments and (b) compensation related to Horizon.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
I hold meetings with the Post Office CEO on a monthly basis where we discuss the topic of Horizon compensation delivery.
Postmasters who paid shortfalls which were recorded in Horizon to the Post Office are paid those amounts back in their compensation claims, as well as any other financial and personal damage which they have suffered as a consequence of the IT system.
Government has made funding available for both the Horizon Shortfall Scheme and for Overturned Convictions compensation. Post Office has published its provisions for both in its annual accounts and Government has published the level of funding available on the Subsidy Transparency Database.