Asked by: Steve Reed (Labour (Co-op) - Streatham and Croydon North)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate his Department has made of the potential change in the price of a second class postage stamp in the event that the UK leaves the EU (a) with and (b) without a deal.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
Decisions about the pricing of postage stamps are operational matters for Royal Mail, subject to any regulatory requirements set by Ofcom. The current price cap for second class stamps is 60p, which is due to rise to 65p with effect from 1 April 2019.
Asked by: Steve Reed (Labour (Co-op) - Streatham and Croydon North)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the level of support for customers who lost goods and possessions in the Shurgard fire in Croydon on New Year’s Eve, what assessment the Government has made of the adequacy of requirements on businesses to plan for major disasters and support affected customers; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
Under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, contracts entered into by a trader and a consumer where a trader agrees to carry out a service, such as storing their goods, have to be carried out with reasonable care and skill. Traders are prohibited from including a term in the contract which limits its liability when carrying out that service.
For free information and advice on their rights, consumers should contact the Citizens Advice consumer service on 03454 04 05 06 (www.citizensadvice.org/).
Whilst we do not place any requirements on businesses to plan for emergencies, we do encourage businesses to be prepared and the Cabinet Office provides good practice guidance on the actions they can take on gov.uk: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/preparing-for-emergencies/preparing-for-emergencies
In addition, the Cabinet Office publishes the National Risk Register which contains further information and resources to help individuals, businesses and communities to plan for specific emergencies: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-risk-register-of-civil-emergencies-2017-edition.
Asked by: Steve Reed (Labour (Co-op) - Streatham and Croydon North)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate his Department has made of the number of post office branches that currently have suspended services; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
The Government recognises the critical role that post offices play in communities and for small businesses across the UK. This is why the Government committed to safeguard the post office network and protect existing rural services. The overall number of post offices across the UK remains at its most stable in decades with over 11,500 branches thanks to significant Government investment of over £2 billion since 2010.
While the Government sets the strategic direction for the Post Office, it allows the company the commercial freedom to deliver this strategy as an independent business. The distribution of branches is an operational matter of commercial judgement for Post Office management team. I have therefore asked Paula Vennells, the Group 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: Steve Reed (Labour (Co-op) - Streatham and Croydon North)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many of the 41 Crown post offices in dedicated premises that are earmarked to be franchised and relocated to WHSmith have Applicant Enrolment Identification (AEI) machines; and how many of the AEI machines will be relocated to the franchisee’s stores with the post office counter.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
The Government recognises the critical role that post offices play in communities and for small businesses across the UK. This is why the Government committed to safeguard the post office network and protect existing rural services. The overall number of post offices across the UK remains at its most stable in decades with over 11,500 branches thanks to significant Government investment of over £2 billion since 2010.
While the Government sets the strategic direction for the Post Office, it allows the company the commercial freedom to deliver this strategy as an independent business. The distribution of branches is an operational matter of commercial judgement for Post Office management team. I have therefore asked Paula Vennells, the Group 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: Steve Reed (Labour (Co-op) - Streatham and Croydon North)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many of the post office counters that were located in Bargain Booze stores that then closed were relocated in the last eight years; and what the financial cost to the taxpayer was of those relocations.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
The Government recognises the critical role that post offices play in communities and for small businesses across the UK. This is why the Government committed to safeguard the post office network and protect existing rural services. The overall number of post offices across the UK remains at its most stable in decades with over 11,500 branches thanks to significant Government investment of over £2 billion since 2010.
While the Government sets the strategic direction for the Post Office, it allows the company the commercial freedom to deliver this strategy as an independent business. The distribution of branches is an operational matter of commercial judgement for Post Office management team. I have therefore asked Paula Vennells, the Group 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: Steve Reed (Labour (Co-op) - Streatham and Croydon North)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many post office counters have been located in a Bargain Booze store in the last eight years; and how many of those Bargain Booze stores then closed.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
The Government recognises the critical role that post offices play in communities and for small businesses across the UK. This is why the Government committed to safeguard the post office network and protect existing rural services. The overall number of post offices across the UK remains at its most stable in decades with over 11,500 branches thanks to significant Government investment of over £2 billion since 2010.
While the Government sets the strategic direction for the Post Office, it allows the company the commercial freedom to deliver this strategy as an independent business. The distribution of branches is an operational matter of commercial judgement for Post Office management team. I have therefore asked Paula Vennells, the Group 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.