Written questions by Voaden.

Whether his Department assessed the adequacy of existing consumer protection regulations in ensuring that companies treat bereaved customers with appropriate sensitivity and consistency.

Awaiting answer.

What discussions his Department in cooperation with other departments has had with private sector organisations on the standardisation of their bereavement notification processes, in order to reduce the level of distress caused to bereaved families.

Awaiting answer.

Whether he has had any recent discussions with industry bodies representing (a) banks, (b) insurers, and (c) utility companies on improving bereavement processes for customers.

Awaiting answer.

What recent discussions she has had with OFCOM on levels of compliance of delivery companies with consumer rights legislation.

I have recently met with Ofcom to discuss a range of issues. Under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, the seller is responsible for the delivery of goods bought online until they are in the consumer's physical possession and is thus responsible if anything goes wrong with the consumer's parcel, including goods delivered damaged or lost in transit.Ofcom requires that all operators have a straightforward, accessible, and affordable complaints process.

What assessment he has made of the potential merits of requiring Companies House to carry out checks on the validity of companies addresses when they first register.

The Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 introduced greater powers to remove false and misappropriated company addresses from the register and more stringent requirements around what constitutes an appropriate address.It will also introduce compulsory identify verification for company officers. The automated nature of these processes means that they can manage a large amount of data at speed. Verifying an address and a company's link to it, however, would rely on different evidence, requiring much more manual processing. Given Companies House registers over 800,000 companies per year, the vast majority of which are entirely legitimate, the resource demands are likely to be disproportionate and such checks are not currently part of government plans.