Asked by: Melanie Onn (Labour - Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes)
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 the potential importance of business support functionalities by online platforms such as META.
Answered by Gareth Thomas - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Adoption of digital technologies, including social media such as META's Facebook and Instagram platforms, can significantly increase business productivity. The Department is working with the SME Digital Adoption Taskforce and the Cross-government Review of Technology Adoption on new ways to support this.
It is also important for government to provide and promote business support through a range of channels, to expand access. The Business Support Service offers tailored information and advice on social media, including Facebook, and organisations like the British Business Bank and local Growth Hubs maintain a presence on a range of online platforms including LinkedIn and YouTube.
Asked by: Melanie Onn (Labour - Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether his Department has had discussions with the Post Office on the potential closure of the post office in Victoria Street, Grimsby; and if he will take steps to prohibit the closure of this and other high-street branches.
Answered by Gareth Thomas - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Secretary of State for Business and Trade has had no discussion with Post Office Limited on the potential closure of the post office in Victoria Street, Grimsby. However the Secretary of State and I have met with the Post Office Chair, Nigel Railton, to discuss his proposals for the future of the company. No decision to close any or all of the remaining DMBs have been taken. Post Office are in dialogue with the Unions and postmaster representative bodies about future options for the DMBs.
Although Post Office has the freedom to make commercial decisions regarding the composition of its network, Government sets the parameters for the Post Office to operate in. Government protects the branch network by setting minimum access criteria which require 99% of the UK population to be within three miles of their nearest Post Office outlet. The access criteria ensure that however the network changes, services remain within local reach of all citizens.
Asked by: Melanie Onn (Labour - Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes)
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 potential merits of introducing tariffs on Chinese-produced imported titanium dioxide in the context of recent tariff decisions taken by the (a) EU and (b) US.
Answered by Douglas Alexander - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Department remains alert to significant trade remedy cases between WTO members and will continue to closely monitor those cases where the UK has an interest.
While there has not yet been an assessment, as the Trade Remedies Authority has no open investigations on imports of dumped or subsidised titanium dioxide, we would encourage UK producers to contact the Trade Remedies Authority, who may consider an investigation, if they do have concerns.