Written questions by Franklin.

Whether his Department has had discussions with Electronic Arts on the potential impact of its proposed acquisition by PIF, Silver Lake and Affinity Partners on the level of jobs and investment in the UK.

Under competition law, responsibility for investigating the impact of mergers and acquisitions on competition falls to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), the UK’s independent competition authority. The government has ensured that the CMA has significant powers and expertise to investigate the benefits and risks of mergers in relation to competition.In some cases Ministers can intervene on public interest grounds, but these are limited to matters relating to financial stability, media plurality and public health emergencies.

Whether he plans to introduce legislation to prohibit the automatic addition of service charges to customer bills.

Awaiting answer.

Whether he plans to review evidence on chemical exposure from plastic baby products, including feeding bottles, dummies and teethers; and if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of the regulatory

Awaiting answer.

If she will suspend financial penalties and other enforcement action for non-compliance with Companies House filing requirements while the online Director Identification Number service remains subject to operational faults.

Over two million individuals have successfully used the new systems. It is recognised that issues have arisen impacting some users. Companies House is working continuously to iterate services based on user feedback and experience. Any enforcement action we take will be in line with our compliance and enforcement framework. Companies in default will have an opportunity to make representations. Where non-compliance can be attributed to technical issues outside of their control, then we will usually pause enforcement for a period of time.

What assessment she has made of the reliability of the Companies House online service for issuing Director Identification Numbers; and what steps are being taken to address technical issues that prevent users from obtaining the required credentials.

Companies House is committed to providing robust digital services to its customers. Since April 2025, over two million individuals have successfully proven their identity and successfully received personal codes (referred to as Director Identification Numbers in this correspondence).A small number of users have been impacted by technical issues. Companies House has worked closely to iterate services based on user feedback and experience. If the individual is continuing to experience issues, we would advise they contact Companies House directly so that their issues can investigated and supported accordingly.

Whether his Department has had recent discussions with Royal Mail on the timeliness of their deliveries of (a) penalty charge notices, (b) NHS appointment letters, (c) other time-sensitive and (d) other legally important correspondence; and whether he has made a recent assessment of the potential impact of that level of timeliness on people receiving those communications.

Ministers and officials have discussions with Royal Mail on a regular basis in its capacity as the universal service provider. It is for Ofcom, as the independent regulator of postal services, to set and monitor Royal Mail’s service standards and decide how to use its powers to investigate and take enforcement action should Royal Mail fail to achieve its obligations without good justification.