Asked by: Ian C. Lucas (Labour - Wrexham)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many staff appointed after 24 June 2016 in his Department hold a post that includes work on the UK leaving the EU.
Answered by Margot James
It is not possible to estimate the proportion of staff time dedicated to EU exit due to the interdependencies and synergies between EU exit and the Department’s other priorities. Teams across the Department are working on delivering a successful EU exit. This includes full-time staff in central coordination teams, and dedicated resource embedded in policy and delivery teams. The Department will continue to ensure there is an appropriate level of resource to deliver its EU exit programme.
Asked by: Ian C. Lucas (Labour - Wrexham)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent estimate he has made of the number and proportion of people in Wrexham constituency who will be covered by the Government's latest proposals to safeguard customers on the poorest value energy tariff.
Answered by Margot James
Ofgem is considering options to protect vulnerable consumers and has yet to announce a formal proposal. Alongside this Ofgem has announced a package of measures to help consumers move away from poor value tariffs.
Asked by: Ian C. Lucas (Labour - Wrexham)
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 discussions with Post Office officials on locating current and future post offices on non-ground floor premises.
Answered by Margot James
The provision and location of post offices is the operational responsibility of the Post Office. The Department does not play a role in operational decisions which are for the businesses to take.
Prior to any post office relocation, the Post Office conducts a six week local consultation before making any final decision. This is to let customers and interested stakeholders know the detail of its proposal and to seek feedback.
Post Office ensures that all of its agency and franchise branches are aware of the requirements and importance if the Equality Act 2010. The Post Offices approach to accessibility is endorsed by Disability Rights UK.
Asked by: Ian C. Lucas (Labour - Wrexham)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, which post offices in each constituency have moved to premises shared with private sector organisations; and which organisations each such post office is sharing with.
Answered by Margot James
The provision and location of post offices is the operational responsibility of Post Office Limited.
I have asked Paula Vennells, the Chief Executive of Post Office Limited, to write to the Hon Member on this matter. A copy of her reply will be placed in the libraries of the House.
Asked by: Ian C. Lucas (Labour - Wrexham)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, which post offices in each constituency have moved from ground floor to first floor premises in the last two years.
Answered by Margot James
The provision and location of post offices is the operational responsibility of Post Office Limited.
I have asked Paula Vennells, the Chief Executive of Post Office Limited, to write to the Hon Member on this matter. A copy of her reply will be placed in the libraries of the House.
Asked by: Ian C. Lucas (Labour - Wrexham)
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 make an estimate of the average annual energy charges paid by (a) existing and (b) new customers in each of the last five years.
Answered by Jesse Norman
Average annual domestic bills for gas and electricity and industrial energy prices are published as part of the BEIS’s quarterly energy prices publication. The latest available figures are for the average annual domestic bills in 2015 which are £714 for gas (GB) and £584 (UK) for standard electricity.
The information required to distinguish between existing and new customers is not held by BEIS.
Asked by: Ian C. Lucas (Labour - Wrexham)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will place in the Library the most recent submissions made by the parties involved in the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership negotiations.
Answered by Anna Soubry
The European Commission has published a large number of documents relating to the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) on its website, including EU proposals for legal text, position papers and factsheets.
The Commission and the US have agreed that national parliamentarians should have access to classified TTIP documents, including consolidated texts, via reading rooms in national ministries. Restrictions placed on these rooms include that they are only accessible to officials of Member State central governments and Members of Member State national Parliaments.
The UK intends to establish such a reading room in the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS). This will give equivalent access to documents for Members of both Houses to that afforded to Members of the European Parliament. Members of both Houses will be informed of the process and details of how to access the room shortly, once these have been finalised.