Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool Riverside)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether her Department plans to take steps to pause any ongoing or proposed sell-offs relating to postal services pending the outcome of the forthcoming government consultation on the future of postal services.
Answered by Gareth Thomas - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Post Office recently announced that it will be moving to a fully-franchised network. Transitioning to a franchise model will help in tackling the losses that directly managed branches incur on a sustainable basis, as this is expected to result in over £100 million of savings for the company over the next five years. This aligns with Post Office’s commitment to deliver a New Deal for Postmasters, as the savings created by these changes will put Post Office in a better position to increase remuneration for postmasters across the UK. This decision regarding the network, and decisions around the circumstances of each directly managed branch are operational matters for Post Office.
The Government’s Green Paper, due to be published later this year, will ask the public what they want to see from a modern Post Office network. The Green Paper is about a long-term vision for the Post Office, not about operational decisions related to individual branches.
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool Riverside)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what legal powers her Department holds to intervene in matters relating to the sale or transfer of assets within the postal service sector.
Answered by Gareth Thomas - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Post Office recently announced that it will be moving to a fully-franchised network. Transitioning to a franchise model will help in tackling the losses that directly managed branches incur on a sustainable basis, as this is expected to result in over £100 million of savings for the company over the next five years. This aligns with Post Office’s commitment to deliver a New Deal for Postmasters, as the savings created by these changes will put Post Office in a better position to increase remuneration for postmasters across the UK. This decision regarding the network, and decisions around the circumstances of each directly managed branch are operational matters for Post Office.
The Government’s Green Paper, due to be published later this year, will ask the public what they want to see from a modern Post Office network. The Green Paper is about a long-term vision for the Post Office, not about operational decisions related to individual branches.
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool Riverside)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, when her Department plans to launch the public consultation on the future of postal services.
Answered by Gareth Thomas - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Post Office recently announced that it will be moving to a fully-franchised network. Transitioning to a franchise model will help in tackling the losses that directly managed branches incur on a sustainable basis, as this is expected to result in over £100 million of savings for the company over the next five years. This aligns with Post Office’s commitment to deliver a New Deal for Postmasters, as the savings created by these changes will put Post Office in a better position to increase remuneration for postmasters across the UK. This decision regarding the network, and decisions around the circumstances of each directly managed branch are operational matters for Post Office.
The Government’s Green Paper, due to be published later this year, will ask the public what they want to see from a modern Post Office network. The Green Paper is about a long-term vision for the Post Office, not about operational decisions related to individual branches.
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool Riverside)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment her Department has made of the potential implications for her policies of recent sell-offs relating to postal services.
Answered by Gareth Thomas - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Post Office recently announced that it will be moving to a fully-franchised network. Transitioning to a franchise model will help in tackling the losses that directly managed branches incur on a sustainable basis, as this is expected to result in over £100 million of savings for the company over the next five years. This aligns with Post Office’s commitment to deliver a New Deal for Postmasters, as the savings created by these changes will put Post Office in a better position to increase remuneration for postmasters across the UK. This decision regarding the network, and decisions around the circumstances of each directly managed branch are operational matters for Post Office.
The Government’s Green Paper, due to be published later this year, will ask the public what they want to see from a modern Post Office network. The Green Paper is about a long-term vision for the Post Office, not about operational decisions related to individual branches.
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool Riverside)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of changes to the graduate visa route on export earnings.
Answered by Greg Hands
The Government remains committed to sustainable growth in student numbers and the International Education Strategy ambition to host 600,000 international students a year. The Department for Business and Trade is aware of the potential impact of any changes to the Graduate Route visa via assessments made by stakeholders such as Universities UK. To that end, HMG’s International Education Champion, Sir Steve Smith, is advising the Migration Advisory Committee’s review of the Graduate Route.
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool Riverside)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if she will make it her policy to require workers to be paid at least (a) £10.90 per hour in the UK and (b) £11.95 per hour in London.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Shadow Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
In April 2023, the National Living Wage (NLW) rose by a record amount, to £10.42 an hour. The annual minimum wage rates are based on recommendations of the Low Pay Commission (LPC), an independent body which draws on a range of research and stakeholder evidence to strike a balance between support for low paid workers, affordability for business and the impact on the wider economy.
The Government praises those organisations which are able to go further than the statutory minimum rates, but the figures endorsed by the Living Wage Foundation for London and the rest of the UK are voluntary.