Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the recent ballot on industrial action at Royal Mail conducted by the Communication Workers Union; and what discussions he has had with management of Royal Mail on those implications.

The industrial dispute by Royal Mail staff is a matter for Royal Mail and the Communication Workers Union. The Government encourages the parties to engage constructively to find a solution to the dispute as quickly as possible.