Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what recent legislative steps she has taken to protect consumers from builders who charge for work never (a) completed and (b) begun.

The Consumer Rights Act 2015 currently ensures consumers have strong protections against builders who charge for work that they do not complete.

The government has also introduced the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumer Bill this session. The legislation includes measures to introduce tougher court-based penalties for Trading Standards enforcement against rogue builders and others. Details of the measures can be found in Part 3 [Enforcement of Consumer Protection Law] of the Bill.