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

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will take action to support users of software that is no longer supported by the original vendor, for example by requiring the release of the source code of unsupported software to a third party.

Under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 software must be of satisfactory quality, which includes durability for a period a consumer can reasonably expect. If it is not, the consumer may be entitled to a remedy under the Act, for example, a repair or replacement of the software or, if this is not possible, the right to demand some money back. The Government has no plans to require the release of the source code of unsupported software to a third party.