Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps his Department is taking to ensure online retailers clearly disclose (a) international return locations and (b) costs before purchase.

Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 prohibits unfair commercial practices, including misleading actions and omissions of material information, that are likely to impact the average consumer’s transactional decision.

The DMCCA also requires traders, including online retailers, to display prices inclusive of all taxes and unavoidable charges before payment is made. Prices must be accurate and not misleading. Failure to do this may be taken as an unfair trading practice and constitute an offence.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the Government's consultation on alcohol licensing reform on local newspapers.

Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

Following the Licensing taskforce report, the Government published a Call for Evidence on reforming the licensing system on 7 October, which closed on 6 November. The Call for Evidence invited views on the impact of licensing reforms, including in relation to Recommendation 4 of the taskforce on ending the requirement for printed statutory notices in local newspapers for alcohol licences. The reforms collectively aim to create a modern, proportionate, and enabling system that supports economic growth, revitalises high streets and fosters vibrant communities.

More broadly, the Government is concerned about the sustainability of local journalism and DCMS is developing a Local Media Strategy, in recognition of the importance of this vital sector. We also recognise that local press continues to play a central role in informing local communities, and that statutory notices can be important in helping inform the public of decisions made by their council which may affect their quality of life, local services or amenities, or their property.

Additionally, the sector’s Public Notice Portal is a welcome innovation, taking advantage of print publishers’ growing digital audiences and providing a centralised resource for all types of public notice. We also welcome the Portal's current expansion to include archive and consultation functions to help public bodies and commercial entities engage with the public more effectively.

DCMS is monitoring the progress of the Portal, and the effect that it has on the audience reach of public notices. This type of industry innovation and collaboration is integral to securing the sector’s future. It will be taken into account in our planned review of statutory notices as part of the Local Media Strategy, which will more broadly consider the merits of making changes to existing requirements to place statutory notices in print local newspapers, including the impact this has on local transparency and the newspaper industry. The review will also take forward final decisions on the future of alcohol licence notices. More will be announced on the Strategy and the review in due course.

Thanking postal workers

Found: present: Phil Brickell Sarah Olney Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown Chris Vince Clive Efford Michelle Welsh

The report from the Infected Blood Inquiry includes recommendations for Parliament on two key areas: how to respond to calls for public inquiries and how to scrutinise the implementation of recommendations resulting from future inquiries.