Asked by: Amanda Martin (Labour - Portsmouth North)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps he is taking to encourage enforcement action by the Competition and Markets Authority on consumer protection.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Competition and Markets Authority's decision-making is independent of government. Each parliament the government issues a Strategic Steer to the CMA setting out its priorities. Earlier this year the government encouraged the CMA to use its range of tools, including consumer enforcement, “to grow the economy through promoting consumer trust and confidence, while deterring poor corporate practices.”
The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act, which we brought into force in April of this year, strengthened consumer law enforcement by giving the CMA new administrative powers, and empowering the CMA and courts to impose significant monetary penalties of up to 10% of turnover.
Asked by: Amanda Martin (Labour - Portsmouth North)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to the Competition and Markets Authority's (CMA) document entitled Improving Trader recommendation platforms: consumer law compliance advice for businesses, published on 12 November 2024, if he will list the enforcement actions the CMA has taken since the publication of that guidance; and what steps the CMA is taking to monitor compliance with the guidance.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Competition and Markets Authority's decision-making is independent of government. Each parliament the government issues a Strategic Steer to the CMA setting out its priorities for the CMA and the wider policy objectives to which it should have regard. Information about the CMA's enforcement activities is available on its website.
Under the Digital Markets Competition and Consumers Act 2024, trader recommendation platforms must take reasonable steps to ensure consumer reviews on their sites are genuine. The CMA has published separate guidance for businesses that publish reviews to help meet their legal obligations.
Asked by: Amanda Martin (Labour - Portsmouth North)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment her Department has made of the impact the Department's UK City of Culture Competition and new UK Town of Culture competition will have on local communities.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The strong evidence from UK City of Culture shows that supporting local culture pays both economic and social dividends. Town of Culture is a new competition to ensure smaller places across the UK can share in the real impact by shining a spotlight on places and enabling them to tell their story. The winner of the new Town of Culture competition will receive £3.5 million and, for the first time ever, I have confirmed from the outset that the City of Culture winner will receive £10 million.