Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps the Government is taking to monitor copycat websites that offer government services.

Copycat websites undermine trust in online services, and this government is committed to stopping them. We’re taking action on three fronts.

First, we are taking action to shut down such sites and prevent them from appearing in search engines. We are working with search engine providers to ensure they implement their terms and conditions on copycat website advertising, increasing the click-through to Government websites by 30%. Security teams in departments across government are also actively monitoring the internet for bogus sites, and taking action accordingly.

Secondly we improve the consistency and quality of Government websites, so that consumers can recognise and trust official sources of information.

Finally, we are working closely with other bodies such as the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), the National Trading Standards Board (NTSB) and Which? to raise awareness of this issue and ensure action is taken where appropriate.