Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
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 adequacy of Royal Mail’s efforts to meet its Quality of Service targets in SK Stockport postcode areas.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Ofcom, as the independent regulator of postal services, is responsible for monitoring Royal Mail’s performance and ensuring that Royal Mail complies with its legal obligations. Ofcom takes compliance with its regulatory targets seriously and this involves conducting thorough investigations where failures have been identified.
In October, Ofcom fined Royal Mail £21 million for failing to meet its quality-of-service targets and has told Royal Mail it must urgently publish and deliver a credible plan that delivers major and continuous improvement.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if he will have discussions with EP Group on their compliance with agreements made with the Communication Workers Union on reform of the Universal Service Obligation; and whether he has assessed the adequacy of the performance of Royal Mail’s Optimised Delivery Model trials in delivering service improvements.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The government engaged with EP Group and the Communication Workers Union (CWU) throughout the process of Royal Mail’s ownership transition. The Deed of Undertaking we agreed with the new owner includes a commitment from EP Group that they will continue to recognise the unions and abide by the future terms of legally binding agreements they make with them.
We will continue to monitor compliance with these undertakings and maintain dialogue with all parties to ensure that agreed protections and principles are upheld.
Royal Mail and the CWU agreed to run pilots in selected offices to design, test and review the operation of the proposed delivery model in response to Ofcom’s USO changes. The government does not have a role in the operational decisions of the business.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether his Department has (a) made an assessment of the barriers faced by Hong Kong BNO visa holders in transferring professional qualifications into the British labour market and (b) issued guidance to employers on the employment rights of Hong Kong BNO visa holders.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Many British National Overseas (BNO) visa holders have professional qualifications. Recognition of overseas qualifications is determined by independent occupational regulators, many of which accept Hong Kong qualifications.
The recognition process can be challenging for BNO visa holders and refugees. The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) developed the Regulated Professions Register, which Hongkongers can use to find information on entry requirements and regulators. DBT also published guidance on GOV.UK to support refugees, including those from Hong Kong, navigate the recognition process.
BNO visa holders have the right to work in the UK, and employer guidance on right to work checks is available on GOV.UK.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what recent discussions his Department has had with Fujitsu Ltd on its involvement in the Horizon IT system failures; and whether his Department plans to pursue accountability for the company’s involvement in the wrongful prosecution of sub-postmasters.
Answered by Gareth Thomas
We welcome Fujitsu’s acknowledgement of their moral obligation to contribute to the cost of the scandal.
On 7 March 2025, the Secretary of State for Business and Trade and Fujitsu’s global CEO agreed to begin talks on Fujitsu’s contribution to the costs of the scandal, prior to the conclusion of the Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry report.
The extent of culpability for the scandal of Fujitsu and others – and hence any further accountability measures – will not be clear until all parts of Sir Wyn Williams’ Inquiry report are published.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what discussions his Department has had with the Competition and Markets Authority on updating the designations under the Controlled Land Order to help promote fair competition in the grocery sector.
Answered by Justin Madders
The Competition and Markets Authority has a general duty to monitor the effectiveness of the Controlled Land Order. This includes regularly assessing whether any grocery retailers meet the criteria for designation that are outlined in the Order. The CMA is in the process of carrying out its latest assessment. Government will continue to work closely with the CMA following its assessment to determine the best way forward.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps his Department is taking to enforce compliance among social care providers based (a) in the UK and (b) abroad that fail to pay (i) wages and (ii) pension contributions.
Answered by Justin Madders
The law is clear: if you are a UK-based worker, you are entitled to rights under UK employment law, regardless of where your employer is based.
HMRC enforces the minimum wage on behalf of DBT. It considers all complaints from workers and where it finds underpayment orders employers to pay workers their money back, and a penalty to government. Since the minimum wage was introduced, the Government has overseen the repayment of over £186 million to 1.5 million workers, issued over £100 million in financial penalties and completed over 90,000 investigations.
The Pensions Regulator (TPR) has powers to take compliance action against employers who are found not to be paying employer pensions contributions, including, where necessary, through court action. The Pensions Ombudsman will consider complaints from individuals and award compensation when appropriate.
The Employment Rights Bill will create the Fair Work Agency to bring together employment rights enforcement. This body will provide better support for employers to comply with the law and will have powers to take tough action against the minority who flout it.
The Government has committed to establishing a new Fair Pay Agreement in the adult social care sector, empowering worker representatives and employer representatives to negotiate fair pay and terms and conditions in a regulated and responsible manner.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether his Department carried out impact assessments prior to its decision to delay the implementation of the Employment (Allocation of Tips) Act 2023.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Shadow Minister without Portfolio
The Employment (Allocation of Tips) Act, which became law in May 2023, will require employers to pass all tips on to workers, without deductions.
The accompanying statutory Code of Practice laid before Parliament on 22nd April 2024, and the other measures in the Act, will be effective from 1st October 2024.
The implementation date for the Act was revised from 1st July 2024 to 1st October 2024 to ensure sufficient time for those affected by the changes to prepare.
The impacts of the new requirements were considered in the impact assessment prepared for the Act: https://bills.parliament.uk/bills/3197/publications.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to her Department's policy paper entitled UK and Taiwan Enhanced Trade Partnership arrangement, published on 14 November 2023, whether she plans to negotiate a bilateral investment treaty with Taiwan.
Answered by Greg Hands
The UK’s longstanding policy on Taiwan has not changed: the UK has no diplomatic relations with Taiwan but a strong, unofficial relationship based on dynamic commercial, educational and cultural ties.
The Department for Business and Trade is currently working on an Enhanced Trade Partnership with Taiwan; currently there are no plans to negotiate a bilateral investment treaty with Taiwan.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what data his Department holds on the number of subpostmasters in (a) Stockport constituency and (b) Greater Manchester who (i) were wrongfully convicted and (ii) left their jobs as a result of the flawed Horizon accounting system.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Shadow Minister without Portfolio
The Government does not hold the data requested.
95 postmasters in England have had their convictions overturned to date. The Government will fast-track legislation to overturn the convictions of all those convicted in England or Wales.
Our focus is on ensuring that all those who lost their Post Office roles or experienced other losses as a result of the Horizon scandal receive the compensation they deserve.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether her Department has an industrial strategy for the retail sector.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Shadow Minister without Portfolio
The industry led Retail Sector Council is the key forum to address significant sector issues and define a strategic future for the retail sector. It aims to accelerate positive change, increase productivity, and ensure it remains robust and sustainable, continuing to provide good jobs and a beneficial service to consumers, communities, the economy.
In July 2023 the Council published a discussion paper ‘Retail – The Great Enabler’ exploring the value of and pressures on the sector. The Council is developing a strategic approach for retail that embraces several key areas including sustainability, labour and retail careers, cost of living pressures and impact on supply chains and high street regeneration and investment.