Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, when he plans to commence the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024.

On 1^st January of this year, the government commenced Parts 1, 2 and 5 of the Act, which brought into force, among other reforms, the new pro-competition regime for digital markets. The government intends to commence the Act’s consumer enforcement reforms and updated provisions on unfair commercial practices in April. Reforms to subscriptions contracts and alternative dispute resolution will follow later, with subscriptions reforms not commencing before Spring 2026. New savings schemes rules are planned to commence in January 2026. The new foreign state intervention (FSI) regime for newspapers and periodical news magazines, for which the Department for Culture, Media and Sport are the lead government department, commenced on 24 May 2024.