Asked by: James Naish (Labour - Rushcliffe)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, what assessment his Department has made of the potential challenges faced by small AI developers seeking to build consumer tools that rely on data from third-party commercial websites.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Minister of State (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Technology)
The Government recognises that small AI developers can face particular challenges in accessing data lawfully and affordably, including from third-party websites. The Report on Copyright and AI, published in March 2026, considered evidence from across the AI and creative sectors on these issues, and heard directly from SME representatives about the disproportionate impact of legal uncertainty and licensing costs on smaller developers. We are supporting market-led approaches to data licensing and technical standards, and will keep their effectiveness under review, including their impact on SMEs. The Government’s Plan for Small Businesses, published in July 2025, sets out the measures that the Government is taking to support small businesses across the UK. This includes tackling late payments, boosting access to finance, and removing red tape.
Asked by: James Naish (Labour - Rushcliffe)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, what discussions his Department has had with international partners on the regulation of space-based light reflection technologies; and whether the UK plans to raise concerns about such technologies at the UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space.
Answered by Chris McDonald - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The UK Government engages internationally through a range of fora, including the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space, to help develop guidelines and governance structures that meet the needs of the modern space age. This work includes international engagement on matters such as sustainability and the protection of dark and quiet skies for astronomy and scientific observation.
Asked by: James Naish (Labour - Rushcliffe)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, what recent discussions her Department has had with the Competition and Markets Authority on access to retail data for small businesses and app developers seeking to build consumer-facing tools.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Minister of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade)
The Department has not had any recent discussions with the Competition and Markets Authority on access to retail data for small businesses and app developers seeking to build consumer-facing tools.
Asked by: James Naish (Labour - Rushcliffe)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that the potential merits of consumer AI tools are not restricted to services offered directly by large incumbent firms.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Minister of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade)
As the UK's principal competition authority, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has powers to address competition problems, including in digital markets. The CMA is operationally independent of the Government and decides which issues to investigate.
Asked by: James Naish (Labour - Rushcliffe)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of retailers' terms and conditions restricting automated and AI-assisted access to their websites on competition among third-party service providers.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Minister of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade)
As the UK’s principal competition authority, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has powers to address competition problems, including in digital markets. The CMA is operationally independent of the Government and decides which issues to investigate.
Asked by: James Naish (Labour - Rushcliffe)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, what assessment the Competition and Markets Authority has made of the availability of stable application programming interfaces from major supermarkets for third-party developers.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Minister of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade)
The Competition and Markets Authority (“CMA”) has not assessed the availability of stable application programming interfaces (“APIs”) from major supermarkets for third-party developers.
In 2023 and 2024, the CMA reviewed competition in the groceries sector and found no widespread evidence of weak competition. As part of this work, the CMA did identify issues with grocery retailers’ unit pricing practices that could affect shoppers’ ability to compare products and recommended changes to the Price Marking Order 2004. The UK government subsequently implemented reforms to unit pricing in April 2026.
Asked by: James Naish (Labour - Rushcliffe)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of Trading Standards enforcement of consumer rights relating to online retailers; and what steps the Government is taking to ensure that local Trading Standards teams have sufficient resources and powers to tackle businesses that repeatedly fail to comply with consumer protection legislation.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Minister of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade)
The Government is committed to ensuring that consumers can shop online with confidence. Consumers making purchases online benefit from a 14-day cancellation period. We have strengthened enforcement through the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024, which provides the Competition and Markets Authority with stronger powers to tackle breaches of consumer law.
Trading Standards services are provided by local authorities and supported nationally by National Trading Standards. The Government confirmed last week longer term plans to overhaul the wider consumer protection landscape. This will examine how organisations like Citizens Advice and Trading Standards can work more effectively with regulators, enforcement bodies and redress schemes so that harmful practices are addressed more quickly, and consumers can access support more easily.
Asked by: James Naish (Labour - Rushcliffe)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, what discussions his Department has had with online review platforms about sharing information about businesses that receive repeated complaints with relevant consumer protection and enforcement authorities.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Minister of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade)
The Government is committed to ensuring that consumers can shop online with confidence. Consumers making purchases online benefit from a 14-day cancellation period. We have strengthened enforcement through the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024, which provides the Competition and Markets Authority with stronger powers to tackle breaches of consumer law.
Trading Standards services are provided by local authorities and supported nationally by National Trading Standards. The Government confirmed last week longer term plans to overhaul the wider consumer protection landscape. This will examine how organisations like Citizens Advice and Trading Standards can work more effectively with regulators, enforcement bodies and redress schemes so that harmful practices are addressed more quickly, and consumers can access support more easily.
Asked by: James Naish (Labour - Rushcliffe)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that online retailers comply with consumers’ statutory rights, including the 14-day cancellation period for online purchases.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Minister of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade)
The Government is committed to ensuring that consumers can shop online with confidence. Consumers making purchases online benefit from a 14-day cancellation period. We have strengthened enforcement through the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024, which provides the Competition and Markets Authority with stronger powers to tackle breaches of consumer law.
Trading Standards services are provided by local authorities and supported nationally by National Trading Standards. The Government confirmed last week longer term plans to overhaul the wider consumer protection landscape. This will examine how organisations like Citizens Advice and Trading Standards can work more effectively with regulators, enforcement bodies and redress schemes so that harmful practices are addressed more quickly, and consumers can access support more easily.
Asked by: James Naish (Labour - Rushcliffe)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of ending deep-space signal processing and long-baseline observation expertise at Jodrell Bank Observatory on the UK's space situational awareness and satellite tracking capabilities.
Answered by Chris McDonald - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The UK’s Space Domain Awareness capability is provided by the National Space Operations Centre (NSpOC). It uses data from UK sensors, commercial providers, and international partners to protect UK interests from space related threats, risks and hazards. NSpOC does not currently, nor are there any plans to, use data from Jodrell Bank Observatory.
The Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade is investing £85m during this Spending Review period to enhance the UK’s space domain awareness capabilities.
To maintain the UK's long-term capability in radio astronomy, the Government is investing in the Square Kilometre Array Observatory, with ÂŁ327 million committed between 2021 and 2030.