Asked by: Sarah Hall (Labour (Co-op) - Warrington South)
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 compensate employees of (a) the Post Office, (b) sub-postmasters and (c) shops that fulfilled Post Office functions who were (i) prosecuted, (ii) arrested and (iii) had their employment terminated on the basis of flawed information generated by the Horizon system.
Answered by Gareth Thomas - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Regardless of employment status, individuals who had their Horizon-related convictions overturned, or were prosecuted but not convicted, are eligible to apply for redress through the Overturned Convictions Scheme or Horizon Convictions Redress Scheme. Postmasters who were part of the 2019 group litigation against the Post Office are eligible for redress via the Group Litigation Order Scheme, whilst those not in any of these groups who suffered mainly shortfall losses may seek redress via the Horizon Shortfall Scheme (HSS).
Individuals who were employees of the Post Office, or those who were employed by a business partner of the Post Office or a postmaster in branch, unfortunately are not eligible for redress under the HSS. This is because they did not have a direct contract with the Post Office. We are, however, continuing to look actively at potential gaps in the provision of redress which may prevent individuals who were affected by the Horizon scandal from being able to claim redress.
Asked by: Sarah Hall (Labour (Co-op) - Warrington South)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps his Department has taken to improve the (a) visibility and (b) accessibility of the Export Academy for micro businesses looking to export.
Answered by Douglas Alexander - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The UK Export Academy is here to support all businesses to grow by giving attendees the confidence and know-how to land overseas deals, and it is reaching more micro-businesses than ever before. Already this year, more than 3,700 micro-businesses have registered so far to attend the free training sessions, which is an increase on 2023/24 where 3,639 micro-businesses registered. To make the UK Export Academy more accessible, we are piloting video-on-demand and a catch-up service has been launched so micro-business owners can access session recordings at a time that suits them, online, and from anywhere across the UK.
Asked by: Sarah Hall (Labour (Co-op) - Warrington South)
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 provide export support for small businesses.
Answered by Gareth Thomas - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Under the umbrella of the recently announced Business Growth Service, UK businesses can access DBT’s wealth of export support via Great.gov.uk. This comprises an online support offer and a wider network of support including the Export Academy, UK Export Finance, the International Markets network and one-to-one support from International Trade Advisers.
DBT is piloting an enhanced partnership with Greater Manchester Combined Authority, taking a targeted place-based approach to accelerate small business growth through exporting across the region. This will be rolled out to other regions across England over the next 12 months.
Asked by: Sarah Hall (Labour (Co-op) - Warrington South)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many businesses engaged with UK Export Finance in financial years (a) 2021-22, (b) 2022-23 and (c) 2023-24.
Answered by Gareth Thomas - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The numbers of businesses that UK Export Finance (UKEF) supported in the financial years in question are shown in the table below:
| Total exporters supported |
2021/22 | 545 |
2022/23 | 532 |
2023/24 | 650 |
Further information is available in UKEF’s annual report and accounts, available online at: www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-export-finance-annual-report-and-accounts-2023-to-2024.