Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if he will take steps to prevent the illegal (a) online sale and (b) importing of skin (i) whitening and (ii) lightening products which cause skin damage.

Cosmetics products must comply with some of the strongest safety standards in the world before they can be placed on the GB market. Government works with local enforcement authorities to take effective action when products are identified that do not meet these safety requirements, ensuring unsafe items are removed from sale.

Government has introduced the Product Regulation and Metrology Bill, which explicitly recognises the role of online marketplaces to ensure consumers are protected from unsafe products. We intend to use the powers in the Bill to introduce requirements on e-commerce models to help prevent the sale of unsafe products online.