Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, when she last met with representatives from Ofcom to discuss plans for reforming the Universal Service Obligation.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
It is the responsibility of Ofcom, as the independent regulator of postal services, to ensure that the universal postal service meets the reasonable needs of customers as well as being financially sustainable and efficient.
The Government will consider any recommendations that Ofcom puts forward, but Ministers are not currently minded to introduce new legislation to change the obligations on postal deliveries.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what recent assessment she has made of the potential implications for her Department's policies of Royal Mail's failure to meet the Universal Service Obligation.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
As the independent regulator for the postal sector, it is for Ofcom to monitor Royal Mail’s delivery of the universal service obligation and decide how to respond should Royal Mail fail to meet its obligations.
While the Government does not have a role in Ofcom’s regulatory decisions, I have met the Chief Executive of Royal Mail’s parent company to raise concerns about its performance in delivering the Government’s commitment to a universal postal service which meets consumer needs.
Ofcom fined the business £5.6m for failing to meet its service delivery targets in 2022-23 and continues to monitor Royal Mail’s performance to ensure service issues are addressed as a priority.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the Royal Mail’s fulfilment of the Universal Service Obligation in Portsmouth in 2023.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
As the independent regulator for the postal sector, it is for Ofcom to monitor Royal Mail’s delivery of the universal service obligation and decide how to respond should Royal Mail fail to meet its obligations.
While the Government does not have a role in Ofcom’s regulatory decisions, I have met the Chief Executive of Royal Mail’s parent company to raise concerns about its performance in delivering the Government’s commitment to a universal postal service which meets consumer needs.
Ofcom fined the business £5.6m for failing to meet its service delivery targets in 2022-23 and continues to monitor Royal Mail’s performance to ensure service issues are addressed as a priority.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if she will hold discussions with (a) FRP Advisory and (b) The Body Shop International Limited on alleged procedural errors in recent redundancy processes.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
My officials at the Insolvency Service’s Redundancy Payments Service have been working with the administrators from FRP Advisory to ensure that employee redundancy claims can be paid as soon as possible. If employee consultation requirements in relation to redundancies have not been met, their representative may make a complaint to an Employment Tribunal. If the complaint is upheld, the Tribunal has discretionary power to make a Protective Award in compensation to the affected employees.
Administrators are licenced by a regulatory body, which would be responsible for investigating any matters relating to their conduct as officeholders. The Insolvency Service will review complaints about the conduct of the company’s directors to assess whether further investigation would be appropriate.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether her Department is taking steps to help support people made redundant by The Body Shop International Limited.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
While this is a commercial decision for the company, we understand that this will be a concerning time for workers at The Body Shop, and we stand ready to support those impacted.
Affected employees will be able to access our broad range of support, including Universal Credit and JobCentre Plus, through the Department for Work and Pension's Rapid Response Service.
Employees who worked for the company under an employment contract may be eligible for statutory redundancy pay, compensatory notice pay, and holiday pay, for which they can apply to the Insolvency Service.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to Ofcom's press release entitled Universal postal service must modernise, published on 24 January 2024, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of proposals to reduce the number of Royal Mail service days on (a) working conditions and (b) staff numbers.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
It is the responsibility of Ofcom, as the independent regulator of postal services, to ensure that the universal postal service meets the reasonable needs of customers as well as being financially sustainable and efficient. The Government does not have a role in Ofcom’s regulatory decisions.
The Government will consider any recommendations that Ofcom puts forward, but Ministers are not currently minded to introduce new legislation to change the obligations on postal deliveries.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to Ofcom's press release entitled Universal postal service must modernise, published on 24 January 2024, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of proposals to reduce the number of Royal Mail service days on postal delivery targets.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
It is the responsibility of Ofcom, as the independent regulator of postal services, to ensure that the universal postal service meets the reasonable needs of customers as well as being financially sustainable and efficient. The Government does not have a role in Ofcom’s regulatory decisions.
The Government will consider any recommendations that Ofcom puts forward, but Ministers are not currently minded to introduce new legislation to change the obligations on postal deliveries.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of a reduction in Royal Mail service days on small (a) businesses and (b) online traders.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
It is the responsibility of Ofcom, as the independent regulator of postal services, to ensure that the universal postal service meets the reasonable needs of customers as well as being financially sustainable and efficient. The Government does not have a role in Ofcom’s regulatory decisions.
The Government will consider any recommendations that Ofcom puts forward, but Ministers are not currently minded to introduce new legislation to change the obligations on postal deliveries.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether her Department is taking steps with Cabinet colleagues and Amazon to help support businesses that use that website to demonstrate that they are UK-based for VAT purposes.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
I have written to Amazon's UK Country Manager on two occasions as well as met them in person to discuss this issue. I have requested that Amazon unfreeze business accounts and provide support for those impacted.
Government officials continue to signpost sellers to support, working alongside the Small Business Commissioner, who is in regular contact with Amazon to highlight specific cases.
Steps taken by the Government and the Small Business Commissioner have led to cases being resolved, with online sellers receiving their withheld funds and resuming trading. We will continue working with Amazon until this issue is fully resolved.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether her Department is taking steps to increase the share of Angel’s funding received by women and ethnic minority individuals.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
My department leads the Investing in Women Code, a voluntary commitment for providers of capital including Angel investment syndicates. The Code has attracted over 250 signatories, including over 40% of UK Business Angel Association (UKBAA) members. The Code publishes its findings annually. These show that signatories are more likely to invest in women entrepreneurs than the wider market.
Code signatories have also provided data on their investments in entrepreneurs from an ethnic minority background. These figures were analysed by the UKBAA and were published in November 2023, in collaboration with the APPG for Ethnic Minority Business Owners.