Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of bringing forward legislative proposals to (a) restrict and (b) regulate unsolicited doorstep cold calling in residential areas.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Conducted properly, trading from door to door or conducting business in a consumer’s home can be a legitimate form of business, provided traders observe the legislation regulating the practice.
The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 updates existing protections that prohibit traders from engaging in aggressive or misleading commercial practices, including harassment, high pressure-selling techniques, coercion or undue influence against consumers. Traders are banned from ignoring a request from a consumer to leave or not return to the consumer’s home.
Residents can collectively ask their local Trading Standards services to set up ‘No cold calling zones’, which are designed to prohibit uninvited callers.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps his Department is taking to help protect people from unsolicited doorstep cold calling.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Conducted properly, trading from door to door or conducting business in a consumer’s home can be a legitimate form of business, provided traders observe the legislation regulating the practice.
The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 updates existing protections that prohibit traders from engaging in aggressive or misleading commercial practices, including harassment, high pressure-selling techniques, coercion or undue influence against consumers. Traders are banned from ignoring a request from a consumer to leave or not return to the consumer’s home.
Residents can collectively ask their local Trading Standards services to set up ‘No cold calling zones’, which are designed to prohibit uninvited callers.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of regulations governing online platforms used by the gig economy..
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Businesses operating in the UK, including online platforms in the gig economy, must comply with UK laws and regulations on employment, data protection, taxation, business regulation and right to work. Responsibility for overseeing these regulations spans multiple departments and regulators, depending on the issue.
The Department for Business and Trade is responsible for employment rights legislation, where the Government has committed to moving towards a simpler framework for employment status. Our priority is ensuring those workers who are most vulnerable know their rights and have the benefit of protection at work.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps he is taking to support access to postal services for small businesses in (a) Fylde constituency and (b) Lancashire.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The government recognises that small businesses are critical to our communities and essential to our economic success. We are committed to hardwiring the voice of small business into everything we do and collaborating with businesses and workers to kickstart and rebuild our economy.
The universal postal service ensures that SMEs across the UK have access to an affordable service.
Ofcom independently regulates the universal postal service. In its 2023-24 Post Monitoring Report, Ofcom found that three-quarters (74%) of SMEs were satisfied with the quality of service they receive from Royal Mail, while overall satisfaction with other providers stood at 81%.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps he is taking to improve access to finance for start-up businesses in Fylde.
Answered by Gareth Thomas - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
We will publish our Small Business Strategy later this year with a clear ambition to promote start-ups and encourage entrepreneurship, built around the new Business Growth Service.
Start Up Loans are available across the UK, helping new and early-stage businesses access affordable finance. 209 such loans have been issued to Fylde businesses, worth an aggregate of over £2.1 million.[1]
Existing support offers include Help to Grow: Management - UK, providing practical ways to enhance small business productivity and growth, and the British Business Bank’s Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund II provides debt and equity finance for businesses across the North.
[1] Start Up Loans Scheme – lending 2012 to 31/01/2025 | Start Up Loans (to 31 January 2025)
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 12 June 2025 to Question 58327 on Beer: Sales, whether his assessment of the beer market will include consideration of (a) tied house arrangements and (b) their impact on market access for guest beers.
Answered by Gareth Thomas - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The beer market review, with specific reference to market access for small brewers, will cover all subcategories of the pub sector, including leased and tenanted pubs. It will not however consider the merits of different pub models.
The government is separately conducting a statutory review into the operation of Pubs Code and the performance of the Pubs Code Adjudicator. Interested parties can submit their views to the call for inputs until 14 August 2025. The Pubs Code applies to large pub-owning businesses with 500 or more tied pubs in England and Wales, covering around 8,000 pubs.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 12 June 2025 to Question 58327 on Beer: Sales, when he expects the assessment of the beer market to be completed; and whether the findings will be published.
Answered by Gareth Thomas - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The intention is to complete the review this summer. Ministers will then consider the report’s findings and, following discussions with those parties that have contributed to the review, whether any further steps should be taken.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 12 June 2025 to Question 58327 on Beer: Sales, whether his Department has received representations from (a) brewers and (b) pub companies on the potential merits of extending the Guest Beer Agreement scheme to (i) England and (ii) Wales.
Answered by Gareth Thomas - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The government notes the Scottish Pubs Code and the ‘guest beer agreement’ requirement, contained within it.
The England and Wales Pubs Code, which applies to large pub-owning businesses with 500 or more tied pubs in England and Wales, covers around 8,000 pubs. The government is currently undertaking the third statutory review of the Pubs Code and the Pubs Code Adjudicator. Stakeholders including brewers and pub companies are encouraged to contribute to the review’s call for inputs which is open until 14 August.
Additionally, the government is completing an exercise to understand whether there are any barriers to market for small brewers. This exercise covers all pub models. Interested parties can contact beermarketreview@businessandtrade.gov.uk.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 12 June 2025 to Question 58327 on Beer: Sales, whether he has consulted (a) small brewers and (b) independent pub landlords as part of his assessment of the beer market.
Answered by Gareth Thomas - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
As part of its assessment of the beer market, the Department has engaged with a range of stakeholders, including small brewers and independent pub landlords.
The government is separately conducting a statutory review into the operation of the Pubs Code and the performance of the Pubs Code Adjudicator. Interested parties can submit their views to the call for inputs until 14 August 2025. The Pubs Code applies to large pub-owning businesses with 500 or more tied pubs in England and Wales, covering around 8,000 pubs.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 5 June 2025 to Question 55229 on Electric Bicycles: Sales, what estimate he has made of the number of illegally modified electric bikes removed from sale by (a) Trading Standards and (b) the Office for Product Safety and Standards in the last year.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Under UK product safety regulations, businesses are responsible for ensuring the products they supply comply with all relevant legal requirements. The Office for Product Safety and Standards published a regulatory activity update for e-bikes in January which summarises its actions in this area. It does not routinely collect estimates of numbers of products removed from sale. Individual Trading Standards departments prioritise action against non-compliant consumer products based on the trading patterns and safety issues specific to their locality, which differ between regions.
Enforcement of illegally modified electric bikes used on public roads is a matter for the police.