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 adequacy of existing enforcement powers in holding large online retailers to account for breaches of employment, consumer protection and supplier payment standards.

The government keeps enforcement frameworks under review.

For employment protections, the Fair Work Agency has powers to inspect workplaces, issue penalties and investigate a wider range of labour abuse.

In the case of consumer protection, the government has recently given the Competition and Markets Authority powers to directly enforce consumer law with fines of up to 10% of global turnover through the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024.

On supplier payment standards, the Commercial Payments Bill will strengthen the Small Business Commissioner's powers to investigate poor payment practices, determine disputes and impose financial penalties on businesses that persistently pay suppliers late, and introduce a 60-day maximum payment term.