Asked by: Charlie Maynard (Liberal Democrat - Witney)
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 ensure that local trading standards services have adequate (a) support and (b) expertise to enforce consumer protection laws introduced through the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Department for Business and Trade officials have contributed to training events and provided practical information to the Chartered Trading Standards Institute to disseminate to trading standards officers about the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024, including changes to consumer protection law and trading standards' enforcement powers.
Furthermore, the Department provides grants to the Chartered Trading Standards Institute and the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities, as well as others, who are developing training material on the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024. Funding also supports the maintenance of Business Companion which provides trading standards officers and business with the latest information on the application of consumer law.
Asked by: Charlie Maynard (Liberal Democrat - Witney)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether he plans to seek UK accession to the World Trade Organization Multi-Party Interim Appeal Arbitration Arrangement.
Answered by Douglas Alexander - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The Government is keeping the question of UK membership of the Multi-Party Interim Appeal Arbitration Arrangement (MPIA) under active consideration.
The Government is committed to a free, fair and rules-based international trading system. Re-establishing a fully-functioning WTO dispute settlement system is crucially important. The UK is keen to continue working with other WTO Members to achieve that goal.
Asked by: Charlie Maynard (Liberal Democrat - Witney)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps his Department has taken towards deciding whether UK will align its regulations with the EU in certain sectors.
Answered by Douglas Alexander - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
A more cooperative relationship with the EU is in the UK’s national interest, as it will help grow the economy and boost living standards.
All decisions taken by the Government on regulation will be focused on supporting growth across the UK. The Government will draw on evidence gathered though our strong relationships with stakeholders, including industry, trade associations and consumer groups.
Asked by: Charlie Maynard (Liberal Democrat - Witney)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 10 February to Question 28625 on Rules of Origin, what criteria will be used to determine the benefits, risks and the national interest of joining the Pan-Euro-Mediterranean Convention on Rules of Origin.
Answered by Douglas Alexander - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
Rules of origin are often highly technical and there are many factors that influence how businesses experience using these rules and whether they would benefit from different rules - from the different types of paperwork involved, to the make-up of their supply chains. We are regularly talking to businesses about their experience and how we can remove trade barriers and support growth. There is also a significant interaction with the existing rules we have with the EU and in our FTAs with PEM partners that would require consideration.
Asked by: Charlie Maynard (Liberal Democrat - Witney)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if his Department will publish its divergence tracker.
Answered by Douglas Alexander - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
DBT’s Assimilated Law Dashboard and Reports capture changes to legislation inherited from the EU when the UK left the EU. The Reports and dashboard are publicly available and are updated biannually per requirements of the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Act 2023.
The dashboard was last updated in January 2025 alongside the publication of the third Assimilated Law Parliamentary Report and remains a useful resource for tracking the ongoing status of assimilated law.
The Government continues to monitor EU regulatory developments closely, cooperating with the EU on key regulatory developments via existing TCA structures.