Asked by: Paul Masterton (Conservative - East Renfrewshire)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps the Government is taking to support the retail sector in Scotland.
Answered by Andrew Griffiths
BEIS Ministers regularly engage with retailers based throughout the UK to understand their priorities and work with colleagues across Government to optimise the conditions for the sector. Specific initiatives which have benefited retailers include: the reduction in the corporation tax rate to 19%, with further plans to cut it further to 17% in 2020 and the introduction of the Employment Allowance, giving employers up to £3000 off their National Insurance contributions (NICs) bill, benefitting 1m employers. The Government has also introduced the Great British High Street Competition, now in its third year, which celebrates the achievements of local areas in creating vibrant and dynamic high streets and is open to applications from any community large or small.
Asked by: Paul Masterton (Conservative - East Renfrewshire)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how much the Government has invested in renewable energy through the Contract for Difference programme since 2010.
Answered by Claire Perry
To date, contracts have been signed to bring forward nearly 10 gigawatts of renewable generation capacity, with the first of these recently beginning to generate. Government support for these projects is expected to rise to around £2.5 billion a year by 2024/25 (in 2011/12 prices).
Our sustained support has helped deliver dramatic falls in the costs of renewable technologies such as offshore wind.
The Government is committed to delivering clean, smart, and flexible power, which is why in our ambitious Clean Growth Strategy we committed up to £557 million of annual support for further Contracts for Difference, with the next one planned for spring 2019 (in 2011/12 prices).
Asked by: Paul Masterton (Conservative - East Renfrewshire)
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 effect of the closure of post office counter services on vulnerable older customers; and what alternatives are available to those customers.
Answered by Margot James
The Government recognises the important role post offices play in communities across the county, especially for the Post Office’s more vulnerable and elderly customers.
With over 11,600 post offices in the UK, the Post Office network is at its most stable in decades due to the significant investment that has been made to maintain and protect it. This investment has delivered the fresher customer environments, increased opening hours and greater efficiency needed to succeed in Post Office’s competitive and changing markets.
Post Offices are offering nearly a million extra opening hours every month and there are more than 4,400 branches open on Sunday, making Post Office the country’s largest Sunday retail network. Nearly 93% of the UK population live within one mile of their nearest post office, and over 99% within three miles.
Asked by: Paul Masterton (Conservative - East Renfrewshire)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, when officials of his Department last met representatives of the Post Office to discuss the provision of local post offices.
Answered by Margot James
The location and provision of individual post offices is the operational responsibility of Post Office Limited; the company manages that and oversees the network.
Departmental officials meet regularly with Post Office Limited to discuss a wide range of matters affecting the network, and this will include its provision of post offices across the country.
Asked by: Paul Masterton (Conservative - East Renfrewshire)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what his policy is on the retention of local post office services in East Renfrewshire.
Answered by Margot James
The provision of individual post offices is the operational responsibility of Post Office Limited; the company that manages and oversees the UK’s post office network.
I understand that there are currently 10 open post offices in the Honourable Member’s constituency, 9 of which have been transformed under the Post Office’s modernisation programme, offering an additional 224 opening hours per week, with 6 branches open on a Sunday.