Asked by: Stuart Anderson (Conservative - South Shropshire)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what recent discussions he has had with Ofcom on the effectiveness of Royal Mail's delivery of the universal service obligation on letter delivery delays.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary 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.
It is for Ofcom, as the independent regulator, to monitor and enforce Royal Mail’s delivery of the universal service obligation.
Asked by: Stuart Anderson (Conservative - South Shropshire)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps he is taking to increase the (a) availability and (b) affordability of Post Office services in rural areas.
Answered by Gareth Thomas - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
To help ensure that there are affordable post office services in rural areas, the government provides an annual £50m network subsidy to support the delivery of both a minimum number of branches and strong geographical spread of branches in line with published access criteria.
Asked by: Stuart Anderson (Conservative - South Shropshire)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what fiscal steps his Department is taking to help support economic growth in (a) Craven Arms and (b) other rural areas.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Craven Arms lies within Shropshire County Council area which has been allocated a total of £10.8m of core UK Shared Prosperity Funding, as well as a total allocation of £2.6m in Rural Prosperity Funding. Under the UKSPF delegated delivery model, Shropshire Council can choose to invest in supporting economic growth within specific towns like Craven Arms.
In addition, the Council has received Department of Business & Trade funding of £1.2m since FY21/22 for the Shropshire Growth Hub. Growth Hubs provide local business support and advice, to help drive regional economic growth. Growth Hub support is available across England and businesses of all sizes and sectors can contact their local Growth Hubs, including in rural areas.