Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the Competition and Market Authority's (CMA) recent request for emergency time-limited legislation to give the CMA powers to crack down on companies profiteering from the COVID-19 pandemic by 'price gouging'.

The Government is committed to tackling consumer rip-offs and bad business practices, including profiteering.

My Rt. Hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has spoken with the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), business and consumer organisations and retailers to review the impact of profiteering and action taken to address it.

The Government are working with the CMA, Which?, and other organisations to monitor the extent of profiteering, and will update the law if it is proportionate to do so.