Asked by: Marie Goldman (Liberal Democrat - Chelmsford)
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 potential merits of introducing mandatory country-of-origin labelling for the (a) manufacturing facility and (b) parent company on non-food products.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
We have no current plans to introduce country-of-origin marking requirements on non-food products and it is a commercial matter for business to decide where they source their products and to assess to what extent the origin might affect the potential market for those products.
More broadly, the government encourages traders to include helpful information on goods on a voluntary basis, particularly where this may be in the best interests of the consumer or represents a unique selling point for a business, as long as the additional information is true and not misleading in any way.
Asked by: Marie Goldman (Liberal Democrat - Chelmsford)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment his Department has made of recent trends in Royal Mail’s postal service deliveries times; and what steps the Government is taking to ensure that customers receive a reliable and timely service.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
It is for Ofcom, as the independent regulator of postal services, to set and monitor Royal Mail’s service standards, and to decide how to use its powers to investigate and take enforcement action. In December 2024, following its investigation of Royal Mail’s performance in the 2023-24 financial year, Ofcom fined the company £10.5m because of its failure to significantly improve service levels.
Ofcom is currently considering the future of the universal postal service and published a consultation in January proposing a package of reforms to better reflect people’s usage of postal services and support financial sustainability.
Asked by: Marie Goldman (Liberal Democrat - Chelmsford)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether he plans to make an assessment of the impact of daylight saving time on (a) mental health and (b) seasonal affective disorder.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government has no current plans to change the approach to Daylight Savings.