Asked by: Virendra Sharma (Labour - Ealing, Southall)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether she has had discussions with her counterpart in Ukraine on the role of Ukraine's private sector in the country's economic resilience (a) during and (b) after the war.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani - Minister of State (Minister for Europe)
I met with Yuliia Svyrydenko, First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy of Ukraine, at the end of February.
We discussed the role of Ukraine’s private sector in the country’s resilience and reconstruction, the importance of transparent and clear procurement and the alignment between Ukraine’s reform agenda and enhancing its business environment both during and after the war. My department works closely with colleagues in the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office and Government of Ukraine counterparts to address these important topics.
Asked by: Virendra Sharma (Labour - Ealing, Southall)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of financial pressures resulting from Horizon compensation on Southall Broadway Crown Post Office.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Government has provided over £2.5 billion in funding to support the Post Office network over the past decade and is providing a further £588 million for the Post Office between 2022 and 2025.
As part of the funding package up to 2025, Government is providing Post Office with £150 million to enable the company to meet the costs of participating in the Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry and delivering compensation to postmasters.
Asked by: Virendra Sharma (Labour - Ealing, Southall)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if she will hold discussions with Royal Mail on offering a letter delivery service six days a week.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Ministers and officials meet with Royal Mail regularly to discuss a range of issues in relation to its role as the universal service provider.
The Government currently has no plans to change the minimum requirements of the universal postal service which are set out in the Postal Services Act 2011, including the provision of a letter delivery service six days a week.
Asked by: Virendra Sharma (Labour - Ealing, Southall)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether she has had discussions with Ofcom on monitoring whether Royal Mail is meeting its universal service obligation.
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.
Asked by: Virendra Sharma (Labour - Ealing, Southall)
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 Ofcom on the affordability of 1st class postal products.
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.
Asked by: Virendra Sharma (Labour - Ealing, Southall)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether she has had recent discussions with Ofcom on the impact of (a) increases in the cost of first class stamps and (b) the difference in price between first and second class stamps on the affordability of the postal service.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government’s objective continues to be ensuring the provision of a sustainable, accessible and affordable universal postal service. However, as the independent regulator of postal services, regulatory decisions are a matter for Ofcom in which Government is not involved.
Ofcom’s regulatory framework imposes price controls, ‘safeguard caps’, on certain second-class products to ensure a basic universal service is available to all at affordable prices. Ofcom will conduct a public consultation later this year to inform a review of the safeguard caps that should apply from April 2024.
Asked by: Virendra Sharma (Labour - Ealing, Southall)
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 implications for her policies of the conclusion in the Seventh Report of the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee entitled Royal Mail, published on 17 March 2023, HC 1045, that Royal Mail has breached its universal service obligation.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government’s objective continues to be ensuring the provision of a sustainable, accessible and affordable universal postal service.
It is for Ofcom, as the independent regulator of postal services, to set and monitor Royal Mail’s service standards and decide how to use its powers to investigate and take enforcement action should Royal Mail fail to achieve its obligations without good justification. The Government has no role in Ofcom’s regulatory investigations.
On 15 May 2023, Ofcom announced an investigation into Royal Mail’s quality of service performance for 2022-23.
Asked by: Virendra Sharma (Labour - Ealing, Southall)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of Royal Mail's performance in meeting its universal service obligation on people who rely on letters to receive (a) health appointment invitations and (b) energy support vouchers.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government’s objective continues to be ensuring the provision of a sustainable, accessible and affordable universal postal service.
It is for Ofcom, as the independent regulator of postal services, to set and monitor Royal Mail’s service standards and decide how to use its powers to investigate and take enforcement action should Royal Mail fail to achieve its obligations without good justification. The Government has no role in Ofcom’s regulatory investigations.
On 15 May 2023, Ofcom announced an investigation into Royal Mail’s quality of service performance for 2022-23.
Asked by: Virendra Sharma (Labour - Ealing, Southall)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if the Government will commission an independent assessment of the potential impact of a UK-India free trade agreement on global access to medicines.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
We have always been clear that the NHS, its services, and the cost of medicines are not on the table in our free trade negotiations.
When a signed treaty text is laid in Parliament, it will be accompanied by an Explanatory Memorandum and the Government will publish an independently scrutinised impact assessment. The impact assessment will set out the updated potential long-run impacts of the FTA on UK GDP, sectors, and employment as well as the potential implications for the UK’s nations and English regions. Specific assessments will not be provided on the global impacts for each sector as a result of the deal.
Asked by: Virendra Sharma (Labour - Ealing, Southall)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if she will make it her policy that the UK-India free trade agreement does not increase the cost of medicines for (a) the UK, (b) India and (c) other low and middle income countries.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
In negotiations with India, the UK’s approach to intellectual property (IP) is to strike a balance between rewarding research and innovation, which can benefit all countries, whilst reflecting wider public interests such as ensuring access to medicines. We will not agree to any provisions that would increase the cost of medicines for our National Health Service. The NHS, its services, and the cost of medicines are not on the table.
In addition to our work on the FTA, we remain committed to the Doha Declaration on the TRIPS Agreement and Public Health, and its agreed flexibilities that support access to medicines.