Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will hold discussions with relevant stakeholders on the reasons for the removal of the ATM from North Harrow Post Office; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Paul Scully
The management of the Post Office network, including the provision for ATMs, is an operational responsibility for Post Office Ltd. It would therefore not be appropriate for Government to comment on ATM provision at individual branches.
ATMs that have been removed from the Post Office network are owned and operated by the Bank of Ireland.
Post Office agreed to take over and operate 1,411 ATMs from the Bank of Ireland and are currently in the process of migrating the Bank of Ireland ATMs onto the Post Office network.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will require that the chief executive of the Post Office publishes the full list of ATMs being removed from (a) inside and (b) outside community post offices in (i) March and (ii) April 2022; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Paul Scully
The decision whether to publish information on the removal of Post Office ATMs is an operational matter for the Post Office.
ATMs that have been removed from the Post Office network are owned and operated by the Bank of Ireland. The Post Office has informed us that the Bank of Ireland ATM contract expires on 31st March 2022 and there are only 48 more ATMs to be removed in their programme between now and the end of March.
Post Office agreed to take over and operate 1,411 ATMs from the Bank of Ireland and are currently in the process of migrating the Bank of Ireland ATMs onto the Post Office network.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many complaints Ofgem has received from British Gas customers on the bereavement services provided by that supplier because of (a) the location of that service in South Africa and (b) all other reasons; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Greg Hands
Ofgem monitors energy suppliers’ performance and publishes data on their customer service on its website at https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/energy-data-and-research/data-portal/customer-service-data. The location of call centres is a commercial matter for individual companies. In addition, Ofgem constantly assesses the experience of energy consumers in vulnerable situations, including bereavement and takes action to address the issues they face as energy users.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what progress he has made in securing bi-lateral mutual recognition agreements with (a) Denmark, (b) France, (c) Germany, (d) Netherlands and (e) Sweden regarding professional service qualifications; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Paul Scully
The decision to initiate a mutual recognition agreement or arrangement on the recognition of professional qualifications is one for the relevant regulators or professional bodies to take.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether plans to require Companies House to prosecute Bounty Joy Ltd for not producing publicly available accounts; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Paul Scully
All limited companies must file their accounts at Companies House each year. Failure to do so is an offence and can result in a criminal prosecution of each of the company's directors.
The law also imposes an automatic civil penalty on a company if the accounts are filed late. The period allowed for filing is set out in law, although a company may apply to extend this in certain circumstances. The amount of the penalty depends on how late the accounts are when delivered and whether the company is private or public at the date of the balance sheet. Penalties are doubled if the company accounts are filed late in consecutive years.
The filing deadline for this company has not yet been reached.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether his Department has had any (a) financial contract and (b) meetings with (i) Clifford Chance LLP, (ii) FTI Consulting and (iii) Fenchurch Advisory Partners in the last five years; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by George Freeman
Details of Government contracts above £10,000 are published on Contracts Finder: https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Search.
Details of ministerial meetings are published quarterly and can be found on GOV.UK.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, for what reason the Government agreed to (a) keep confidential and (b) hold outside of the UK any dispute with Pfizer on the contract that company holds for producing covid-19 vaccines; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by George Freeman
The Government has agreed to keep confidential any dispute(s) that arise with Pfizer because of commercial sensitivity.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, when Post Office Horizon IT inquiry 2020 plans to interview the former Managing Director of the Post office; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Paul Scully
The Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry is independent of the Department. The Inquiry’s forward engagement plans are for Sir Wyn Williams FLSW to decide as Chair of the Inquiry.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will require all firms taking over a financial services business to disclose advisers fees regardless of the corporate structure governing the business; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Paul Scully
While the Companies (Disclosure of Auditor Remuneration and Liability Limitation Agreements) Regulations 2008 require companies to disclose fees payable to the auditor for the audit of their financial statements, there is no requirement to disclose fees payable to professional advisers more broadly. These are properly a matter for the company and its members. The Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) is committed to ensuring that the UK’s regulatory approach is proportionate, targeted, consistent, transparent, and optimised to support opportunities for UK businesses. The regulation of takeovers under the Companies Act and associated regulations is designed to protect the interests of shareholders and to safeguard their rights to information that will allow them to make an informed decision. We are confident the system functions effectively.