Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill (Thirteenth sitting)

Giles Watling Excerpts

Committee stage
Tuesday 4th July 2023 Public Bill Committees

[Kevin Hollinrake]

Clause 248 places duties on the trader to provide the consumer with pre-contract information set out in schedule 20 before they enter a contract. All key pre-contract information must be given together to the consumer and separately from any other information. That is to ensure that it is not obscured by technical detail or marketing material and the consumer’s attention is focused on the information that they need to make an informed decision.

Clause 249 sets out obligations on the trader in concluding a contract, such as ensuring that the consumer expressly acknowledges their payment obligation if the contract is made online. That will ensure that consumers are fully aware of the contract they are entering.

[Giles Watling (Clacton) (Con)]

As the hon. Member for Gordon said, the national lottery has an amazing track record—£47 billion has been given to good causes over many years—and we do not want this great institution, of which we should all be proud, to be hamstrung by endless requirements such as reminder notices. Will the Minister table amendments to the Bill on reminder notices ahead of Report that would ensure that the national lottery is exempt, as intended?

[Kevin Hollinrake]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right that we do not intend to include national lotteries or society lotteries in this legislation. We are talking to those bodies to ensure that they are confident that that is the case. If we need to amend the Bill to do that, we will, but those conversations will continue. I am grateful to my hon. Friend for making that point.

Clause 250 requires traders to send reminder notices in certain instances. A reminder must be sent on the first occasion that a subscription renews, including when a free or low-cost trial is coming to an end. That will ensure that consumers know they will soon become liable for payments, or higher payments, and can decide whether they want to continue the contract.

--- Later in debate ---

[Seema Malhotra]

Clause 254 sets out that the trader must comply with certain terms in every subscription contract they enter into, and various information is given about what is expected. We welcome the inclusion of clauses 254 and 255 in the Bill.

Question put and agreed to.

Clause 254 accordingly ordered to stand part of the Bill.

Clause 255 ordered to stand part of the Bill.

Clause 256

Right to cancel during cooling-off periods

[Giles Watling]

I beg to move amendment 113, in clause 256, page 170, line 22, leave out “any circumstances” and insert

“circumstances where the consumer has not yet made use of the goods or service provided under the contract”.

I had intended to withdraw this amendment, because I received assurances from the Minister that the Government will take this issue seriously. I tabled it because of concerns about the length of cooling-off periods. People can join a service, binge watch an entire series, resign, and then go back again and again. The Minister assured me about that, but I look forward to hearing his comments.

[Kevin Hollinrake]

I thank my hon. Friend for his amendment. He is absolutely right to draw attention to this issue.

The initial cooling-off period ensures that a consumer has 14 days to cancel after signing up if they change their mind or do not like the product. The renewal cooling-off period further strengthens consumers’ cancellation rights by giving them an additional 14-day window to cancel their contract later on in some circumstances.

My hon. Friend makes important points. Cancellation rights should be fair to businesses, of course. The aim of the measures in the Bill is to give consumers a window in which they can change their mind before taking on, or renewing, a contract for what can be a significant ongoing liability. We heard several examples of consumers who missed the end of their free trial by a short period, and were then committed to an expensive contract because they had not cancelled in time. However, my hon. Friend makes a good point because there are particular circumstances around the supply of digital streaming services that have to be taken into account to ensure the Bill is fair to businesses. We will engage with businesses, regulators and consumers to ensure that refund and return sales are fair and practical, and work across all sectors, including digital streaming. We intend to return to this issue in secondary legislation to ensure the provisions are fair to providers and the services they provide. I very much hope my hon. Friend feels able to withdraw his amendment. We will engage in further discussions in due course.

[Giles Watling]

I thank my hon. Friend for his reassuring comments. He says we will deal with this issue later when we come to secondary legislation, so I will not press the amendment. I beg to ask leave to withdraw the amendment.

Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.

Question proposed, That the clause stand part of the Bill.

[The Chair]

With this it will be convenient to consider clauses 257 to 259 stand part.

Tackling Rogue Builders

Giles Watling Excerpts

Tuesday 13th June 2023 Westminster Hall

[Mark Garnier]

I am grateful for the intervention. To a certain extent, local authorities can step in where builders fail to meet building standards, but the problem is that that does not work. That is what I am worried about. As I unwind my speech, the hon. Member will be able to understand a little of what I am proposing, which may be a solution to the problems in his constituency.

Of course, highly qualified and professional firms are not the target of any control that we may want to bring in, but a lot of those very good quality firms would benefit from a simple regime that demonstrates beyond any doubt that a builder firm is legitimate and that the workers within it are both honest and qualified. Repeated surveys from organisations within the sector reinforce that consumers are put off by stories of rogue builders. The FMB estimated a few years ago that up to £3 billion a year is wiped off building activity by consumers fearful of falling victims to rogues.

More recently, the HomeOwners Alliance conducted a survey of consumer worries: 79% of those surveyed reported obstacles in the way of their project, including 42% reporting that it was difficult to find a reliable builder, 29% a lack of available builders, and 15% a lack of confidence in the system. The problem that I am trying to address, working with the FMB, is that of rogue builders who prey on clients who are wholly inexperienced in this area. The vast majority of people who employ a builder have no idea how to manage them. Most of us will only infrequently need the work of a builder or tradesman.

[Giles Watling (Clacton) (Con)]

I have a constituent, Michelle Thomas, who paid £70,000 for some restoration work to her house, and the house was left untenable. Building regulators said it should be destroyed. She has paid a further £70,000 and had a very honourable builder come and put it all right.

I am amazed that the Government are not minded to regulate the issue, because, as my hon. Friend says, it would be to the benefit of legitimate good builders who work hard and do good work. One of the issues is that we get repeat offenders, who offend time and again. In the case of my constituent, the rogue builder had been involved in six liquidations. That must be addressed in legislation.

[Sir Mark Hendrick (in the Chair)]

Order. Could I ask for interventions to be a bit briefer?

--- Later in debate ---

[Giles Watling]

rose—

[Sir Mark Hendrick (in the Chair)]

Just before the Minister takes an intervention, I remind Members that this is supposed to be a short debate. I understand that we are possibly going to have as many as five votes, when the votes are called. In the short time we have available, I would be grateful if we could minimise interventions.

[Giles Watling]

I am very grateful to the Minister for giving way. Is it not the case that historically we have relied on the cry of caveat emptor so much that we have not regulated, but that the time has come to regulate now?

[Nigel Huddleston]

I am sure the appropriate Minister has heard my hon. Friend’s appeals, and I promise to pass on those comments. The key thing is to get the right balance. If things work, we have got the balance right, but if they do not work properly, we need to reassess the balance. I assure him that on an ongoing basis, officials and Ministers pay close attention to what is going on in the sector. Many of the things that my hon. Friend and colleagues have appealed for today have been asked for by many people, but there is also some quite strong opposition, for good reason, so it is a matter of balance.

I will bring my comments to a close shortly, Sir Mark. On decarbonisation, the Government are working with the industry to ensure that high standards of consumer protection are embedded in our domestic household decarbonisation retrofit programmes. Government-funded schemes require installers to hold appropriate certifications. The Government are also seeking to increase the number of qualified and competent tradespeople and to ensure that they have the skills to deliver the quality of work required. We have already provided nearly £7 million to fund 8,000 training opportunities for the energy efficiency and low-carbon heating supply chains. We are considering options to work with the industry to support further training in key skills shortage areas and new routes of entry to increase capacity. My Department is also working closely with the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities to strengthen the consumer protections available through competent person schemes.

In conclusion, I would like to thank my neighbour, my hon. Friend the Member for Wyre Forest, for securing a debate on this important issue. I hope that I have been able to reassure hon. Members that the Government are not only committed to, but taking action to ensure that high standards of consumer protection exist and to tackle the problem of rogue builders and tradespeople.

Question put and agreed to.

Oral Answers to Questions

Giles Watling Excerpts

Thursday 9th February 2023 Commons Chamber

[Ms Ghani]

In my previous role I was dealing with the impacts of the Inflation Reduction Act, and I hope I will continue to do so, because so many business representatives whom I have met have raised it as a concern. The hon. Lady has referred to green technology. A great deal of work has already been done to promote all our expertise, especially in relation to hydrogen, but there is a huge amount of investment in the UK’s green technology sector and technology in general, and we are also a leading light when it comes to lithium. I was recently in Cape Town with our Green Lithium firm, which wanted to negotiate on how it could do more work in the United States. That is exactly what we are here to do—to facilitate collaboration of that kind.

[Giles Watling (Clacton) (Con)]

9. What assessment she has made of the potential merits of establishing a trade envoy for the Commonwealth.

[The Minister of State, Department for Business and Trade (Nigel Huddleston)]

The countries of the Commonwealth are important trading partners. Our total trading relationship was worth more than £146 billion in the 12 months to September 2022, which is why my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister has already appointed trade envoys to 15 Commonwealth nations. We have trade agreements with 33 Commonwealth members, and five of the 11 members of the comprehensive and progressive agreement for trans-Pacific partnership are in the Commonwealth as well.

[Giles Watling]

As chairman of the 1922 committee’s Back-Bench foreign affairs policy committee, I recently shared our report with ministerial colleagues. One of its recommendations was the creation of a Commonwealth-specific trade envoy post. Does my hon. Friend agree that in this post-Brexit era, increasing trade and movement between the Commonwealth and the UK should be a top priority to foster economic growth? By the way, this is not a pitch for that job.

[Nigel Huddleston]

Yes, I am afraid that those jobs are at the discretion of the Prime Minister.

I hear what my hon. Friend is saying. We already have extensive coverage through the existing network, but we review the network regularly because we are committed to working with our allies in the Commonwealth to remove the barriers to trade and strengthen trading relationships to foster economic growth. Growing exports to Commonwealth countries is a priority, and trade increased by 25% in the year to September 2022. As for movement, we have a new global immigration system which is vital in supporting trade and economic growth, and the movement of business people on a temporary basis promotes and supports trade in services and goods and investment activities. Recognition of professional qualifications and business travel are always an important part of our trade deals.