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 - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
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 - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
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 - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
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 - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
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 - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
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 - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
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, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to enhance the powers of (a) police forces and (b) other relevant authorities under the Digital Markets Act to require the removal of dangerous items for sale on online platforms.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act will allow all public enforcers of consumer law, including Trading Standards, to apply for online interface orders to take down digital content that breaks the law. These powers are planned to commence in April.
Government recently introduced the Product Regulation and Metrology Bill, which will allow Government to update the product regulatory framework to better protect consumers from unsafe products, including those sold online. The Bill will allow Government to introduce regulations that provide powers for Relevant Authorities to take action against non-compliance with product safety requirements, including those introduced on online platforms.
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 his Department plans to allow not-for-profit Community Interest Companies to receive the associated advantages of non-profit organisations.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
While Community Interest Companies (CICs) must satisfy the Regulator that their primary purpose is to benefit a community, they can still generate profit, albeit with restrictions on profit distribution and as long as profits are primarily used to benefit the community.
CICs occupy a middle-ground between private enterprises and charities, providing unique advantages and opportunities. Compared to non-profit organisations, CICs have greater flexibility, no trustees, and can pay directors. CICs benefit from the risk-taking features of a company and access the debt market for loans. The Secretary of State does not intend to change the associated advantages of CICs.
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 with (a) Deliveroo, (b) Uber Eats and (c) Just Eat to end the contracting-out of their workforce accounts for use by people illegally working in the UK.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government is alert to the risks associated with substitution in the platform economy, particularly the role it can play in facilitating illegal working by irregular migrants.
I met recently with the Minister for Border Security and Asylum and the Director of Labour Market Enforcement to discuss this.
We are looking closely at the extent to which Deliveroo, Uber Eats and Just Eat have implemented the commitments they made earlier this year to implement systems to conduct right to work checks on substitute riders, and I have recently written to them seeking further detail on how this is operating in practice.
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, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing grants to enable small and medium-sized film and TV production companies to attend trade fairs.
Answered by Gareth Thomas - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) supports film and TV businesses to meet international buyers and partners at key events both in the UK and overseas. In addition, businesses can access DBT’s export services via Great.gov.uk, including the UK Export Academy, International Trade Advisers in England, Help to Grow and the Export Support Service.
The creative industries are one of the Industrial Strategy’s growth-driving sectors. The Industrial Strategy will be published alongside a Creative Industries Sector Plan in Spring 2025 which will set out a 10-year plan to drive growth in the creative sector. We are reviewing our Export Services as part of our work in the Industrial Strategy, our Trade White Paper and on better support for small businesses.