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 help ensure that services provided through the Buy with Confidence Scheme complete satisfactory work.

The Buy With Confidence scheme is run solely by local authority Trading Standards departments.

Local authorities across England, Scotland and Wales operate independently from central government and are responsible for the provision of Trading Standards services. This includes responsibility for assessing businesses joining the scheme, business compliance and enforcement if things go wrong.

DBT has strengthened consumer law enforcement through the implementation of the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024. The Act gives local authorities the ability to apply to the courts for civil sanctions to impose monetary penalties on businesses who exploit their customers.