Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps the Competition and Markets Authority is taking to protect consumers from rogue traders, including those who provide substandard or fraudulent services.

The Competition and Markets Authority's (CMA) 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.

The Digital Markets Competition and Consumers Act 2024 (DMCCA) strengthens consumer law enforcement by giving the CMA new administrative powers, and they and the courts are able to impose significant monetary penalties of up to 10% of turnover. The CMA recently used the fining powers for the first time against a trader that failed to comply with a legal information notice.

Under the DMCCA, 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.