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Written Question
Postal Services: Bexley
Monday 6th July 2026

Asked by: Daniel Francis (Labour - Bexleyheath and Crayford)

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether his Department holds Royal Mail sorting office delivery data to postcodes (a) DA6, (b) DA7 and (c) DA16.

Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade) (Jointly with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The government does not hold Royal Mail delivery data by postcode or by sorting office.

Royal Mail is an independent business, and the government does not have a role in its day‑to‑day operational business. Ofcom is the independent regulator of postal services and is responsible for monitoring Royal Mail's performance against its targets. This includes a Postcode Area Target for First Class letters to help incentivise an equal and universal service across the UK. Royal Mail’s quality of service reports are published online: www.internationaldistributionservices.com/en/regulation/universal-service-obligation/quality-of-service/.


Written Question
Postal Services
Monday 6th July 2026

Asked by: Daniel Francis (Labour - Bexleyheath and Crayford)

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether his Department holds Royal Mail delivery data by sorting office.

Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade) (Jointly with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The government does not hold Royal Mail delivery data by postcode or by sorting office.

Royal Mail is an independent business, and the government does not have a role in its day‑to‑day operational business. Ofcom is the independent regulator of postal services and is responsible for monitoring Royal Mail's performance against its targets. This includes a Postcode Area Target for First Class letters to help incentivise an equal and universal service across the UK. Royal Mail’s quality of service reports are published online: www.internationaldistributionservices.com/en/regulation/universal-service-obligation/quality-of-service/.


Written Question
Leisure: Government Assistance
Monday 18th May 2026

Asked by: Daniel Francis (Labour - Bexleyheath and Crayford)

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what support is available to independent gyms and other leisure businesses.

Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade) (Jointly with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The government is committed to supporting UK SMEs, including those in the leisure sector, through the Small Business Plan - the most comprehensive package of support for SMEs in a generation.

This includes legislative reforms to tackle late payments; unlocking billions of pounds in finance; removing unnecessary red tape; revitalising High Streets and boosting digital and AI adoption among small businesses.

For the first time, DBT has integrated its support for businesses in a single, accessible place – the Business Growth Service – to help firms start, scale and succeed. UK businesses can access our wide range of support via business.gov.uk.


Written Question
Motor Vehicles: Wheelchairs
Tuesday 10th February 2026

Asked by: Daniel Francis (Labour - Bexleyheath and Crayford)

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps he is taking to help ensure that wheelchair accessible vehicles are produced in the United Kingdom.

Answered by Chris McDonald - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government supports the wheelchair accessible vehicles sector in the UK through investment in innovation, research & development and skills. Our flagship DRIVE35 (Driving Research and Investment in Vehicle Electrification) initiative will support the latest R&D in strategic vehicle technologies, accelerate commercial scale-up, and unlock investment. As part of this ambitious programme, we are committing £4 billion of automotive capital and R&D funding to 2035.