Asked by: Nick Timothy (Conservative - West Suffolk)
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 service standards of Royal Mail’s parcel (a) management and (b) delivery.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Ofcom is the independent regulator for the postal sector with the responsibility and powers to regulate postal services.
Ofcom engages regularly with parcel operators to understand their approach to implementation of Ofcom’s consumer protection measures. The results of its most recent survey research on consumer satisfaction with parcel delivery services is published in Ofcom’s 2023-24 Post Monitoring Report: www.ofcom.org.uk/siteassets/resources/documents/postal-services/monitoring-reports/2023-2024/post-monitoring-report-2023-24.pdf
Asked by: Nick Timothy (Conservative - West Suffolk)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether he has made an assessment of levels of customer satisfaction with Royal Mail’s parcel (a) management and (b) delivery.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Ofcom is the independent regulator for the postal sector with the responsibility and powers to regulate postal services.
Ofcom engages regularly with parcel operators to understand their approach to implementation of Ofcom’s consumer protection measures. The results of its most recent survey research on consumer satisfaction with parcel delivery services is published in Ofcom’s 2023-24 Post Monitoring Report: www.ofcom.org.uk/siteassets/resources/documents/postal-services/monitoring-reports/2023-2024/post-monitoring-report-2023-24.pdf
Asked by: Nick Timothy (Conservative - West Suffolk)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether he has conducted an impact assessment of Royal Mail’s service standards performance on connectivity between local communities.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
It is for Ofcom, as the independent regulator for the postal sector to ensure the provision of the universal postal service. I recently met representatives of Ofcom who gave their reassurance that the regulator is closely monitoring Royal Mail’s performance and will regularly press Royal Mail on this issue to improve service levels as a matter of urgency.
Asked by: Nick Timothy (Conservative - West Suffolk)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether his Department has undertaken economic modelling on the potential impact of sustained high industrial electricity prices on the competitiveness of the manufacturing sector until 2035.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Competitiveness depends on a wide range of factors. The Government recognises that high industrial electricity costs negatively impact the competitiveness in UK manufacturing, in line with the academic literature.
The Government announced the British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme in the Industrial Strategy to reduce industrial electricity prices by c. £35 - £40/MWh from 2027 for around 7000 businesses. In addition, we also announced an increase in support for our most energy-intensive industries eligible for the British Industry Supercharger package, with an uplift of the Network Charging Compensation (NCC) scheme from 60% to 90%.
Asked by: Nick Timothy (Conservative - West Suffolk)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether the UK has imported rare earth minerals from Russia since 2022.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
HRMC’s Overseas trade statistics (country of dispatch basis) show that the UK did not import any Rare Earth Elements (REE) products* dispatched directly from Russia, between 2022 and April 2025.
*HS codes 280530, 284610, 284690, 360690
Asked by: Nick Timothy (Conservative - West Suffolk)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what estimate his Department has made of the number of (a) manufactured components and (b) raw materials imported from China for the domestic production of electric vehicles in the last five years.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Over the last five years the UK has, on average, annually imported China-origin goods worth a) £1.9bn of components (automotive parts, batteries, and motors) and b) £9.7m of minerals that are typically used for batteries and traction motors. These imports may have been used for non automotive uses. The Department does not have the precise value that went into UK automotive production. This information is commercial and therefore can only be provided by individual companies.
Asked by: Nick Timothy (Conservative - West Suffolk)
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 prevent anti-competitive practices in the domestic beet sugar industry.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Competition and Markets Authority, the “CMA”, is responsible for investigating anti-competitive practices. As an independent authority, the CMA has discretion to investigate competition cases which, according to its prioritisation principles, it considers most appropriate.
Any concerns regarding anti-competitive conduct can be raised directly with the CMA. Details of how to submit information, along with general guidance, can be found on Gov.uk.
Asked by: Nick Timothy (Conservative - West Suffolk)
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 impact of US tariffs on (a) manufactured components and (b) raw materials for the domestic production of electric vehicles.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Secretary of State and I frequently engage with stakeholders to discuss automotive sector issues, including the potential impacts of US tariffs on manufactured components and raw materials for domestic EV production. On May 8, a landmark economic deal with the US was announced, protecting jobs in key sectors such as automotive. This deal reduces tariffs on UK car exports from 27.5% to 10%, which is positive news for British car manufacturers. We are also providing additional support for the sector; the 2024 Autumn Budget allocated over £2 billion for zero-emission vehicle manufacturing and supply chains.
Asked by: Nick Timothy (Conservative - West Suffolk)
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 impact of increasing the Autonomous Tariff Quota on the domestic sugar beet industry.
Answered by Douglas Alexander - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The Government recognises the importance of the domestic sugar beet industry and is carefully considering the potential impacts of any changes to the Autonomous Tariff Quota (ATQ) on raw cane sugar following an engagement exercise which closed in March 2025.
We will aim to strike the right balance between supporting our domestic sugar beet and raw cane refining industries, alongside a range of other factors including the UK’s wider strategic trade objectives. The outcome of this review will be announced in due course.
Asked by: Nick Timothy (Conservative - West Suffolk)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what information his Department holds on the proportion of imports worth less than £135 that did not meet UK safety standards by country of origin in each year since 2015.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) works with local authorities and border forces to detect, deter and disrupt the flow of unsafe and non-compliant goods as they are imported into the UK. Risk-based and intelligence-led approaches are used to target the most high-risk goods for inspection at the border. Therefore, the Government does not hold the information in the form requested. In 2023/24 the targeted approach resulted in checks on consignments covering over 15 million goods at the border, with 2.4 million goods (16%) refused entry to the UK.