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

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will make an assessment of the effect of the growing use of online shopping on the incidence of sales of counterfeit electrical products.

The Government has no plans to make an assessment of the effect of the growing use of online shopping on the incidence of sales of counterfeit electrical products. However, we have commissioned research into the sale of counterfeits through online platforms such as social media websites.

The IP Crime Group which is comprised of representatives from private sector, law enforcement agencies and government departments publishes an annual report into IP crime in the UK. The Crime Report contains a survey of Trading Standards departments and they report that in 2014/15 electrical items were the seventh most investigated product. The survey also reports that websites and online auction sites are two of the locations most investigated for counterfeit goods in 2014/15.

IP Crime Report - https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/annual-ip-crime-report-2014-to-2015