Asked by: Steff Aquarone (Liberal Democrat - North Norfolk)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, pursuant to the answer of 1 June 2026 to Question 3528, what assessment he has made of the (a) effectiveness of Ofcom in securing compliance with Universal Service Obligation targets and (b) potential impact of increasing the powers and penalties of Ofcom on securing compliance.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
I have been clear that Royal Mail’s performance has not been good enough. I met with Ofcom to raise concerns about Royal Mail’s compliance with its Universal Service Obligation targets.
Ofcom takes compliance with its regulatory targets seriously and has the necessary regulatory tools and statutory powers to enforce compliance as an independent regulator. These include the power to impose fines on Royal Mail of up to 10% of its turnover from its postal services business.
Asked by: Steff Aquarone (Liberal Democrat - North Norfolk)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of levying fines on Royal Mail to secure compliance with Universal Service Obligation targets.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Ofcom, as the independent regulator for postal services, is responsible for monitoring and enforcing Royal Mail's compliance with its Universal Service Obligation targets. It has taken enforcement action where failures have been identified, including fining Royal Mail £21 million for its 2024-25 performance. These financial penalties are designed to incentivise compliance and deter future breaches.
Additionally, Ofcom required Royal Mail to publish a quality of service improvement plan, which it did on 21 April. The regulator continues to monitor delivery against that plan to ensure service levels improve.
Asked by: Steff Aquarone (Liberal Democrat - North Norfolk)
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 reduce bureaucracy and improve export processes for SMEs trading with the EU.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
We are improving our relationship with the EU and will align with the EU where it is in our national interest. This will help reduce barriers to trade, and the bureaucracy and onerous paperwork for UK businesses, particularly SMEs. Alongside this, DBT publishes explainer documents on key EU regulations and market specific guides on business.gov.uk, through which SME’s can access Unlock Europe, a new programme from UK Business Academy, designed to help businesses build stronger relationships with European customers and increase exporting potential to the EU.
Asked by: Steff Aquarone (Liberal Democrat - North Norfolk)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether he plans to introduce interim mitigations for families potentially affected by the outcome of the Parental Leave and Pay Review.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Parental Leave and Pay Review is designed to build on our evidence base, assess how well the current system is working and identify where there may be opportunities for improvement. The Review will conclude in early 2027 and the Government will outline next steps for taking any reforms forward to implementation.