Asked by: Tonia Antoniazzi (Labour - Gower)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the ongoing closure of Holyhead Port on trade between Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Ferry travel between Dublin and Holyhead continues to be severely affected by closure due to damage inflicted by Storm Darragh on Holyhead until it reopens early next year. The direct effect is on crossings between the UK and the Republic of Ireland though alternative routes from Liverpool and Cairnryan to Belfast and Larne are available and capacity is being reinforced. There are onward effects on UK services, but these are manageable. Government is concerned about the impact on local businesses and communities and are in close contact with the Welsh Government, who lead, together with port and ferry operators.
Asked by: Tonia Antoniazzi (Labour - Gower)
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 adequacy of opt-out schemes for unsolicited mail through letterboxes; and whether her Department (a) is taking and (b) plans to take steps to (i) increase awareness of and (ii) strengthen existing schemes.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Shadow Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
Royal Mail is legally obliged to deliver all addressed mail, including mail addressed ‘To the Occupier’ or ‘The Homeowner’. Royal Mail’s ‘door-to-door’ service should stop unaddressed mailings delivered by Royal Mail, around a quarter of all such mail.
The UK’s data protection legislation sets out obligations on organisations processing personal data and provides individuals with certain rights in respect of their data, including the right to object to their personal data being processed for direct marketing purposes.
The Government has also ensured the provision of consumer advice by providing funding for Citizens Advice, the independent consumer body, which provides free, independent and impartial advice on consumer issues and provides details of all the opt-out schemes available in relation to direct marketing on its website.
Asked by: Tonia Antoniazzi (Labour - Gower)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, when she plans to respond to Question 9354 tabled by the hon. Member for Gower on 12 January 2024 on Horizon IT System.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Shadow Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
A response was published on 7 February. The Department apologises for the delay in publishing this response.Asked by: Tonia Antoniazzi (Labour - Gower)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether her Department has had recent discussions with the Post Office on replacing the Horizon system.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Shadow Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
DBT Ministers and officials engage regularly with Post Office Ltd on a range of strategically important issues, including the company’s IT platform.
The Government is supportive of Post Office’s plans to replace Horizon with a modern, fit for purpose New Branch IT system. In December 2023, I announced the award of an additional £103m to support Post Office Limited to meet its IT costs in the 2023/34 and 2024/25 financial years.
Asked by: Tonia Antoniazzi (Labour - Gower)
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 adequacy of the Groceries Supply Code of Practice.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Shadow Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
The Groceries Supply Code of Practice (the Code) was put in place by the Competition Commission (CC) following a market investigation in 2008. The investigation found some unfair practices in the supply of groceries to large retailers had adversely affected competition in the UK. The Competition and Markets Authority is responsible for keeping under review the effectiveness of the Code in addressing the issues identified in the CC market investigation.