Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
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 improve the processing of export licensing to Ukraine to aid the war effort.
Answered by Douglas Alexander - Secretary of State for Scotland
All export licence applications to Ukraine are treated with the highest priority by the Export Control Joint Unit (ECJU). As with all export licence applications, assessments are made on a case-by-case basis according to the Strategic Export Licensing Criteria. Assessments for Ukraine, given the situation within the country and the nature of the goods often being exported, mean these cases are some of the most complex for ECJU to process.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
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 support the UK glass manufacturing sector.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government continues to support the glass sector, including with their energy costs.
We recently launched the consultation to increase the Network Charging Compensation component of the British Industry Supercharger from 60% to 90% from 2026, as trailed in the Industrial Strategy. This will save eligible glass manufacturers a further £7-10 per megawatt-hour on their electricity bills, bringing the total reduction to around £78 per megawatt-hour. We will also consult on eligibility for the separate British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme in due course.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
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 tackle bogus self-employment in the digital economy.
Answered by Justin Madders
The Government is clear that bogus self-employment is unacceptable. Employers should never seek to deny people their employment rights and avoid their own legal obligations by claiming someone is self-employed when in reality they are not. We recognise the complexity of the UK's current employment status framework and are committed to consulting on a simpler framework.
Our priority is ensuring those workers who are most vulnerable know their rights and have the benefit of protection at work, including those working in the digital economy.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps he is taking to help tackle exploitative employers that target immigrant workers.
Answered by Justin Madders
The Fair Work Agency will bring existing labour market enforcement functions together into one place, so employment rights for all workers are enforced more effectively and efficiently.
In addition, the White Paper ‘Restoring Control over the Immigration System’ set out measures for targeting exploitation of migrant workers including reforms to the sponsorship system, putting more responsibility and accountability on effective and responsible sponsors. This will include exploring making it easier for workers to move between licensed sponsors, reducing the risk of exploitation.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what plans he has to improve the operations of the Certification Officer.
Answered by Justin Madders
The Certification Officer (CO) is independent of Government and day-to-day operations are the remit of the Officer. The CO is required by statute to report their activities to the Department for Business and Trade, and ACAS, on an annual basis. This report is made available to Parliament and is deposited by the relevant minister in the House libraries.
The next report is due Summer 2025.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what the value is of the subsidy offered by the (a) Government and (b) Post Office to franchise operators of Post Office branches; and how long that subsidy is available for.
Answered by Gareth Thomas
While I regularly engage with the Post Office CEO about the direction of the company, Post Office has the freedom to operate the branch network within the parameters set by Government. Therefore, the level of support to people working in franchised branches is an operational matter for Post Office.
Government subsidy funding goes to Post Office, not franchise operators of branches directly. Government has confirmed up to £83 million of network subsidy this financial year to support Post Office with the costs of delivering Government policy requirements, and provided £10.9 million of funding in FY 24/25 to help initiate the Transformation Plan, which aims to put postmasters’ interests at the heart of Post Office. Further multi-year funding for the Transformation Plan and network subsidy is being considered as part of the upcoming Spending Review.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps he is taking to monitor the level of support provided to people working in franchised Post Offices.
Answered by Gareth Thomas
While I regularly engage with the Post Office CEO about the direction of the company, Post Office has the freedom to operate the branch network within the parameters set by Government. Therefore, the level of support to people working in franchised branches is an operational matter for Post Office.
Government subsidy funding goes to Post Office, not franchise operators of branches directly. Government has confirmed up to £83 million of network subsidy this financial year to support Post Office with the costs of delivering Government policy requirements, and provided £10.9 million of funding in FY 24/25 to help initiate the Transformation Plan, which aims to put postmasters’ interests at the heart of Post Office. Further multi-year funding for the Transformation Plan and network subsidy is being considered as part of the upcoming Spending Review.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether the proposed network subsidy to the Post Office could be used to support Post Offices with rental costs as they become franchises.
Answered by Gareth Thomas
The Government provides a network subsidy so that Post Office can cover the costs of delivering Government policy requirements, which include geographical access criteria. In order to fulfil the access criteria, Post Office has to keep uncommercial branches open. The network subsidy is to help the company to afford to do this. The network subsidy does not fund costs relating to the implementation of Post Office's transformation plan, which includes transitioning to a fully franchised network. Government provided POL with £10.9m of funding in FY 24/25 to help initiate the transformation plan. Further multi-year funding for the transformation plan is currently being considered.
Government has confirmed up to £83 million network subsidy for Financial Year 25/26. Funding beyond this will be confirmed as part of the upcoming Spending Review.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, over what period the proposed network subsidy to the Post Office would last.
Answered by Gareth Thomas
The Government provides a network subsidy so that Post Office can cover the costs of delivering Government policy requirements, which include geographical access criteria. In order to fulfil the access criteria, Post Office has to keep uncommercial branches open. The network subsidy is to help the company to afford to do this. The network subsidy does not fund costs relating to the implementation of Post Office's transformation plan, which includes transitioning to a fully franchised network. Government provided POL with £10.9m of funding in FY 24/25 to help initiate the transformation plan. Further multi-year funding for the transformation plan is currently being considered.
Government has confirmed up to £83 million network subsidy for Financial Year 25/26. Funding beyond this will be confirmed as part of the upcoming Spending Review.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how much and what proportion of the proposed network subsidy to the Post Office would be used to support the transition of directly managed branches to franchises.
Answered by Gareth Thomas
The Government provides a network subsidy so that Post Office can cover the costs of delivering Government policy requirements, which include geographical access criteria. In order to fulfil the access criteria, Post Office has to keep uncommercial branches open. The network subsidy is to help the company to afford to do this. The network subsidy does not fund costs relating to the implementation of Post Office's transformation plan, which includes transitioning to a fully franchised network. Government provided POL with £10.9m of funding in FY 24/25 to help initiate the transformation plan. Further multi-year funding for the transformation plan is currently being considered.
Government has confirmed up to £83 million network subsidy for Financial Year 25/26. Funding beyond this will be confirmed as part of the upcoming Spending Review.