Smarter Regulation: Improving Price Transparency and Product Information for Consumers

Wednesday 24th January 2024 Written Statements

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Business and Trade (Kevin Hollinrake)]

Today, my Department has published the Government’s response to the consultation on “smarter regulation: improving price transparency and product information for consumers”. The consultation sought views and evidence on steps the Government could take to improve price and information transparency for consumers.

The response sets out our intent to reform the Price Marking Order 2004, and to legislate on hidden fees—“drip pricing”, fake reviews, online interface orders and interim online interface orders.

The Government plan to:

Reform the Price Marking Order 2004 (Retained EU Law), simplifying the requirements making it easier for businesses to comply with and for consumers to compare prices of products;

facilitate the DEFRA, Scottish, and Welsh Government plans to create deposit return schemes;

introduce new rules on hidden fees—“drip pricing”, by requiring that unavoidable and mandatory fees be included in the headline price or indicated at the start of the purchasing process;

prohibit commercial practices related to fake reviews; and

extend the power to apply for online interface orders and interim online interface orders to additional public enforcers.

I am placing a copy of the consultation response in the Libraries of the House.

[HCWS203]