Asked by: John Slinger (Labour - Rugby)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, what steps the Government is taking to hold Royal Mail senior management accountable for statutory delivery performance targets.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Minister of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade)
The government has been clear that Royal Mail’s quality of service has not been good enough.
The Government has discussed Royal Mail’s performance with the company and Ofcom, as the independent regulator, and they know there is more to do to improve stability and reliability for customers, but it is welcome that the most recently released quality of service figures, for Q1 26/27, show an improvement.
Ofcom has opened an investigation into Royal Mail’s quality of service performance for 2025-26 and Royal Mail has published a quality of service improvement plan alongside a £500 million investment into frontline resourcing.
The government will continue to press royal Mail for improvements in service quality.
Asked by: John Slinger (Labour - Rugby)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of Royal Mail's performance in relation to its delivery targets.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Minister of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade)
The government has been clear that Royal Mail’s quality of service has not been good enough and Ofcom, as the independent regulator, has opened an investigation into Royal Mail’s quality of service performance for 2025-26.
The Government will continue to discuss Royal Mail’s performance with the company and Ofcom, and there is more to do to improve stability and reliability for customers, but it is welcome that the most recently released quality of service figures, for Q1 2026/27 show an improvement.
Asked by: John Slinger (Labour - Rugby)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, what recent research his Department has carried out into the psychological effect on job seekers of employers not responding to their application.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Minister of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade)
The government recognises concerns about modern recruitment practices raised by young people who contributed to Alan Milburn's interim review of the rise in the number of 16 to 24-year-olds who are not in education, employment or training (NEET). Many reported submitting large numbers of job applications but receiving either no response or only automated rejections.
The government is considering these concerns and will respond to any recommendations arising from Alan Milburn's final review once it is published.
The government is not aware of any jurisdiction that legally requires employers to respond individually to every job application and has no current plans to introduce such a requirement. However, unsuccessful applicants may wish to seek feedback from employers on their application. They may also ask an employer to review a recruitment decision if they believe they have been discriminated against or that the recruitment process was not applied fairly or consistently.
The government has not conducted recent research into the psychological impact on jobseekers of receiving no response to a job application.
Asked by: John Slinger (Labour - Rugby)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, what research his Department has conducted on supermarket pricing in recent years.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Minister of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade)
The Department has considered supermarket pricing evidence through its work on the Price Marking Order, including a 2023 consumer survey and public consultation on unit pricing, which showed strong support for helping consumers identify best value. It has also considered Competition and Markets Authority findings on price marking and promotions, which informed recent updates to improve the consistency, visibility and transparency of pricing information. We recently updated the PMO in October 2025 to increase standardisation and transparency across a greater range of goods. These came into effect in April this year.
Additionally, Defra monitors food price inflation and publishes regular statistical reports using sources including the Office for National Statistics. Its in-house econometric model assesses how food supply chain cost changes affect consumer prices, including supermarket prices.
Asked by: John Slinger (Labour - Rugby)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that Royal Mail meets its obligations under the universal postal service in relation to the free delivery of Articles for the Blind; what assessment he has made of the timeliness of those deliveries; and what steps he is taking to improve delivery performance for constituents in Rugby.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Minister of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade)
It is important that postal services are accessible and work effectively for all users, particularly those relying on the Articles for the Blind service. The obligation to provide this service is set out in legislation and regulations are overseen by Ofcom, as the independent regulator.
Ministers have met with both Royal Mail and Ofcom to discuss concerns about delivery performance and will continue to make representations to ensure that customers receive the service they are entitled to.
Asked by: John Slinger (Labour - Rugby)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps his Department is taking to support businesses reliant on imported steel.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Minister of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade)
Based on 2025 data, three-quarters of UK steel imports by value (74%) and over half by volume (53%) are outside scope of steel trade measure.
Following extensive engagement with UK industry, the final quota volume increased by 21% compared to our provisional and previously published details. These quotas allow continued availability of tariff-free goods in the UK.
To ease potential short-term impacts, a transitional arrangement is available under which the new measure would not apply to goods agreed under contract before 14 March 2026 and imported between 1 July and 30 September 2026. We have also removed country caps and allowed rollover between quarters within the same quota year.
The measure will be reviewed after 12 months to ensure it remains effective.