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Written Question
Publications: Retail Trade
Wednesday 2nd February 2022

Asked by: Baroness Merron (Labour - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to help small booksellers compete with online retailers beyond the reliefs implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The government is committed to ensuring digital markets, such as the e-commerce market, remain competitive and deliver positive outcomes for small businesses, consumers, and society. Our digital competition consultation set out a vision for the UK’s new pro-competition regime for digital markets and the powers of the new Digital Markets Unit, which is already operating in non-statutory form inside the CMA. The regime will enable the UK’s competition authorities to tackle the unique challenges of fast-moving digital markets and will aim to boost competition and innovation by tackling the sources and effects of market power in digital markets. The consultation closed on 1 October 2021 and we are now carefully considering the responses.

At budget, my Rt hon Friend Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer announced further business rates relief of 50% in 2022/23 for eligible retail, hospitality, and leisure businesses worth almost £1.7 billion and we are freezing the multiplier for 2022/23 saving businesses £4.6 billion over the next five years.


Written Question
National Security and Investment Act 2021
Friday 16th July 2021

Asked by: Baroness Merron (Labour - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask Her Majesty's Government when the final communications sectoral definition under the National Security and Investment Act 2021 will be published.

Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The Government will publish the draft notifiable acquisition regulations as part of the ​implementation of the National Security and Investment Act 2021 in due course. This will include descriptions of the proposed ​acquisitions in the communications sector which must be notified to my Rt. Hon. Friend the Secretary of State.