Asked by: Seema Malhotra (Labour (Co-op) - Feltham and Heston)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether her Department is taking steps to help resolve the industrial dispute concerning Royal Mail.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Shadow Minister without Portfolio
The industrial relations dispute is a matter for Royal Mail, as a private company, and the Communication Workers Union to resolve.
The Government is monitoring the industrial dispute closely and I strongly urge Royal Mail and the Communication Workers Union to continue negotiations to reach a resolution as soon as possible and minimise the disruption to consumers and businesses.
Asked by: Seema Malhotra (Labour (Co-op) - Feltham and Heston)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether her Department remains committed to maintaining Royal Mail’s Universal Service Obligation.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Shadow Minister without Portfolio
The Government’s objective continues to be ensuring the provision of a sustainable, accessible, and affordable universal postal service.
The Government currently has no plans to change the minimum requirements of the universal postal service which are set out in the Postal Services Act 2011.
Asked by: Seema Malhotra (Labour (Co-op) - Feltham and Heston)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to her Department's data entitled BEIS: spending over £500, September 2022, for what purpose her Department spent (a) £500 at the Information Commissioner's Office on 7 September 2022 and (b) £990 at Noble Macmillan on 12 September 2022.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
a) The former Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) did not spend £500 at the Information Commissioner’s Office in September 2022
b) £990 was spent at Noble Macmillan on the purchase of books of condolence for all former BEIS offices following the death of HM The Queen.
Asked by: Seema Malhotra (Labour (Co-op) - Feltham and Heston)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to her Department's data entitled BEIS: spending over £500, October 2022, for what purpose her Department spent £779.18 at Pret a Manger (Europe) Ltd London on 11 October 2022.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
The former Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy spent £779.18 at Pret a Manger on catering for 120 people attending an all-day staff training event held off-site.
Asked by: Seema Malhotra (Labour (Co-op) - Feltham and Heston)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to her Department's data entitled BEIS: spending over £500, September 2022, for what purpose her Department spent £2,900 at the Information Commissioner's Office on 5 September 2022.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
£2,900 was paid to the Information Commissioner’s Office to satisfy the department’s annual data protection fee as outlined in the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR). The amount is set by Parliament.
Asked by: Seema Malhotra (Labour (Co-op) - Feltham and Heston)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many small and medium-sized businesses made use of the UK Tradeshow Access Programme in each year of that programme's existence; and what was the cost of that programme in each year.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
The Tradeshow Access Programme begin in 2006 and ceased in March 2021.
The table shows the volume of businesses supported, and the overall programme costs, for each year of its existence.
Year | Supported Businesses | Programme Spend |
2006/07 | 4,390 | £10.5m |
2007/08 | 3,500 | £8.5m |
2008/09 | 3,600 | £7.7m |
2009/10 | 4,100 | £8.4m |
2010/11 | 4,100 | £8.4m |
2011/12 | 3,200 | £6.7m |
2012/13 | 5,796 | £8.7m |
2013/14 | 9,427 | £16.2m |
2014/15 | 8,769 | £11.0m |
2015/16 | 5,837 | £9.1m |
2016/17 | 3,913 | £7.6m |
2017/18 | 3,292 | £6.5m |
2018/19 | 3,258 | £6.3m |
2019/20 | 2,538 | £5.0m |
2020/21* | 35 | £0.5m |
* Most international travel was suspended due to COVID-19.
Asked by: Seema Malhotra (Labour (Co-op) - Feltham and Heston)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment she has made of the (a) awareness of and (b) satisfaction with the UK Tradeshow Programme among small and medium-sized enterprises.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
The UK Tradeshow Programme was established in November 2021 as a pilot alongside the launch of the 2021 Export Strategy “Made in the UK, Sold to the World”. An assessment of the programme’s feasibility and research to evaluate its delivery are ongoing.
In the latest midyear National Survey of Registered Businesses statistics, 24% of all surveyed businesses with viable exporting products were aware of the programme. This figure is based on responses between February-June 2022, and is a smaller sample size than the yearly survey publication.
As outlined in our 2021 Export Strategy, the Department is committed to continuous monitoring and improvement of our performance in improving exporting opportunities.
Asked by: Seema Malhotra (Labour (Co-op) - Feltham and Heston)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, who her Department has met with regarding the ongoing industrial dispute in Royal Mail in the last six months.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Shadow Minister without Portfolio
The industrial relations dispute is a matter for Royal Mail, as a private company, and the Communication Workers Union to resolve. As Minister responsible for postal services policy, I have discussed a range of issues relating to Royal Mail’s role as universal postal service provider with the Chair of International Distributions Services and the Chief Executive of Royal Mail within the last six months.
Asked by: Seema Malhotra (Labour (Co-op) - Feltham and Heston)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what discussions she has had with members of the Royal Mail board in each of the last six months.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Shadow Minister without Portfolio
The industrial relations dispute is a matter for Royal Mail, as a private company, and the Communication Workers Union to resolve. As Minister responsible for postal services policy, I have discussed a range of issues relating to Royal Mail’s role as universal postal service provider with the Chair of International Distributions Services and the Chief Executive of Royal Mail within the last six months.
Asked by: Seema Malhotra (Labour (Co-op) - Feltham and Heston)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what the cost to the public purse was of RSM UK Consulting's independent evaluation of the Help to Grow: Digital scheme.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Shadow Minister without Portfolio
Details of the evaluation contract award, including the value, are available on the Government contracts finder portal. Up to date information on the cost of the Help to Grow: Digital scheme, including the evaluation, will be released in Spring 2023 after the scheme has fully closed.