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Written Question
Royal Mail: Standards
Friday 20th January 2023

Asked by: Sarah Olney (Liberal Democrat - Richmond Park)

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will make an assessment of the appropriateness of Ofcom’s month-long suspension of Royal Mail’s quality of service targets.

Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)

As the independent regulator, it is for Ofcom to explain the decisions it takes on the regulatory framework.

In its 2022 review of postal regulation, Ofcom decided to retain Royal Mail’s exemption from meeting performance targets during the Christmas period as it considered that its current approach remained appropriate. In coming to its decision, Ofcom carefully considered consultation responses including from consumer bodies but reserves the right to propose further action in this area if necessary.

Ofcom considers Royal Mail’s performance against its quality of service targets and will continue to closely monitor performance for 2022-23 which it has been clear should no longer be impacted by Covid-19.


Written Question
Royal Mail: Ofcom
Friday 20th January 2023

Asked by: Sarah Olney (Liberal Democrat - Richmond Park)

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of Ofcom's regulatory powers to hold Royal Mail to account.

Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)

Section 54 and Schedule 7 of the Postal Services Act 2011 give Ofcom robust powers to enforce the regulatory requirements it has imposed on Royal Mail and other postal service providers, including instituting court proceedings or imposing financial penalties where appropriate.


Written Question
Postal Services: Standards
Friday 20th January 2023

Asked by: Sarah Olney (Liberal Democrat - Richmond Park)

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent discussions he has had with Ofcom on the impact of letter delivery delays on (a) vulnerable consumers and (b) small businesses.

Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)

Ministers and officials meet with Ofcom regularly to discuss a range of issues in relation to its role as the regulatory authority for the postal sector, including the overall provision of the universal service obligation.


Written Question
District Heating: Regulation
Thursday 19th January 2023

Asked by: Sarah Olney (Liberal Democrat - Richmond Park)

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to bring heat networks under the remit of Ofgem.

Answered by Graham Stuart - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The Government remains committed to the important measures in the Energy Security Bill to deliver change in the energy system over the long term, including giving new powers to Ofgem as the preferred regulator for the heat networks sector. The Energy Security Bill is being taken forward in this Parliamentary session. The Government expects Ofgem to take up its role as regulator in 2024.


Written Question
Energy Bills Rebate
Monday 16th January 2023

Asked by: Sarah Olney (Liberal Democrat - Richmond Park)

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the Energy Bill Support Scheme Alternative Funding, when the online portal for applications for that scheme will open open on gov.uk; and when draft guidance on that scheme will be issued to local authorities

Answered by Graham Stuart - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The application portal for the Energy Bills Support Scheme Alternative Funding is due to open later this month. In addition, the guidance on the scheme is expected to be issued to Local Authorities shortly.


Written Question
Private Sector: Telephone Services
Thursday 12th January 2023

Asked by: Sarah Olney (Liberal Democrat - Richmond Park)

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether his Department has made an estimate of the average response time to telephone calls from the public to large private sector organisations; and what steps he is taking to improve these times.

Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)

The telecoms regulator, Ofcom, published a report on service standards across the telecoms industry, including call waiting times in May 2022. A copy of the report can be found at: https://www.ofcom.org.uk/news-centre/2022/best-and-worst-telecoms-customer-service-revealed.

The Government expects all firms to treat their customers fairly, but does not have plans to amend the consumer protection law in this area. How customer services are operated is a matter for firms, and there are many different channels of communication firms offer.


Written Question
Private Sector: Telephone Services
Thursday 12th January 2023

Asked by: Sarah Olney (Liberal Democrat - Richmond Park)

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he will make it his policy to regulate waiting times for telephone calls from the public to large private organisations.

Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)

The telecoms regulator, Ofcom, published a report on service standards across the telecoms industry, including call waiting times in May 2022. A copy of the report can be found at: https://www.ofcom.org.uk/news-centre/2022/best-and-worst-telecoms-customer-service-revealed.

The Government expects all firms to treat their customers fairly, but does not have plans to amend the consumer protection law in this area. How customer services are operated is a matter for firms, and there are many different channels of communication firms offer.


Written Question
Buildings: Repairs and Maintenance
Thursday 12th January 2023

Asked by: Sarah Olney (Liberal Democrat - Richmond Park)

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent estimate his Department has made of number of (a) businesses and (b) individuals that are qualified to implement retrofitting measures in (i) homes and (ii) other buildings in England.

Answered by Graham Stuart - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

For work carried out under Government schemes installers are required to be TrustMark registered. There are additional certifications required for energy efficiency measures (PAS - Publicly Available Specifications) and low carbon heating measures (MCS - Microgeneration Certification Scheme). In November 2022, there were 1782 TrustMark businesses across the UK which were certified to PAS or MCS standards.

The Mace market intelligence report commissioned by BEIS last year outlined that in 2021 there were 154,748 individuals installing energy efficiency measures in England. Research undertaken last year by Eunomia indicates there are between 36,000 and 87,000 non-domestic retrofit businesses in the UK.


Written Question
Trading Standards: Finance
Wednesday 11th January 2023

Asked by: Sarah Olney (Liberal Democrat - Richmond Park)

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how much funding has been provided to Trading Standards (a) nationally and (b) by local authority in each of the last five years.

Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)

Local authorities across England, Scotland and Wales are responsible for funding Local Authority Trading Standards Services (LATSS). Local authorities are independent from central government and are responsible for determining their resourcing priorities in accordance with the needs of the local electorate. Local government expenditure is determined by the block grant to local authorities, with the remainder raised from local taxation. This funding is used to resource LATSS.

The Department established National Trading Standards (NTS) in England and Wales, to better enable local authorities to take coordinated action against consumer scams. Trading Standards Scotland (TSS) was created to provide a similar role in Scotland. The resources are supplementary and distinct from LATSS funding. Funding in each of the last five years is provided below.

NTS and TSS

22/23

£13,242,000

21/22

£13,242,000

20/21

£13,235,800

19/20

£14,440,000

18/19

£14,676,000

Total

£68,835,800


Written Question
Energy Price Guarantee
Thursday 15th December 2022

Asked by: Sarah Olney (Liberal Democrat - Richmond Park)

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the current mechanism for calculating of the energy price cap by Ofgem.

Answered by Graham Stuart - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

As the expert independent regulator, Ofgem is responsible for operating the price cap. Ofgem remains the sole decision-maker over how it is calculated and has consulted extensively on its methodology for determining the cap level. The Government has confidence in Ofgem, as the expert independent regulator, to set the cap at a level that reflects the underlying efficient costs of supplying energy.