Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether she has had discussions with delivery companies on ensuring that courier services are accessible for all.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Ofcom is the independent regulator for the postal sector and publishes an Annual Monitoring Update setting out key data and trends in the postal sector and feedback on users’ experiences of UK postal services.
Under its 2022 Review of Regulation, Ofcom introduced a new consumer protection regulation on parcel companies to ensure all customers of delivery services, including those who may need extra support, are as smooth as possible and their needs are met.
Asked by: Beth Winter (Labour - Cynon Valley)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of monitoring the (a) accessibility and (b) effectiveness of the appeals process for fines issued by private parking providers.
Answered by Jacob Young - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
The Government is taking action to improve the regulation of the private parking industry and is committed to working with both consumer and industry groups to ensure the code comes into effect as quickly as possible. The Government has no plans to back date the code to 7 February 2022.
The Code will ensure the best possible protection for motorists and parking companies alike, for this reason it will require a need for a grace period to be in place at the end of a permitted parking period.
The Government is aware of the concerns being raised regarding the existing appeals services. Alongside the introduction of the new Private Parking Code of Practice, the Government will be establishing a new, second stage appeals service which is straightforward to use and accessible to all. We will monitor the effectiveness of the new service and take action to make improvements where necessary.
Additionally, operator staff will be required to undergo relevant training.
Asked by: Beth Winter (Labour - Cynon Valley)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of requiring private parking providers to take (a) drivers' and (b) passengers' disabilities into account when (i) levying parking charge notices and (ii) considering appeals for parking charge notices.
Answered by Jacob Young - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
The Government is taking action to improve the regulation of the private parking industry and is committed to working with both consumer and industry groups to ensure the code comes into effect as quickly as possible. The Government has no plans to back date the code to 7 February 2022.
The Code will ensure the best possible protection for motorists and parking companies alike, for this reason it will require a need for a grace period to be in place at the end of a permitted parking period.
The Government is aware of the concerns being raised regarding the existing appeals services. Alongside the introduction of the new Private Parking Code of Practice, the Government will be establishing a new, second stage appeals service which is straightforward to use and accessible to all. We will monitor the effectiveness of the new service and take action to make improvements where necessary.
Additionally, operator staff will be required to undergo relevant training.
Asked by: Beth Winter (Labour - Cynon Valley)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of the Private Parking Code of Practice establishing grace periods during which a parking charge notice may not be levied.
Answered by Jacob Young - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
The Government is taking action to improve the regulation of the private parking industry and is committed to working with both consumer and industry groups to ensure the code comes into effect as quickly as possible. The Government has no plans to back date the code to 7 February 2022.
The Code will ensure the best possible protection for motorists and parking companies alike, for this reason it will require a need for a grace period to be in place at the end of a permitted parking period.
The Government is aware of the concerns being raised regarding the existing appeals services. Alongside the introduction of the new Private Parking Code of Practice, the Government will be establishing a new, second stage appeals service which is straightforward to use and accessible to all. We will monitor the effectiveness of the new service and take action to make improvements where necessary.
Additionally, operator staff will be required to undergo relevant training.
Asked by: Beth Winter (Labour - Cynon Valley)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of backdating the new private parking code of practice to 7 February 2022.
Answered by Jacob Young - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
The Government is taking action to improve the regulation of the private parking industry and is committed to working with both consumer and industry groups to ensure the code comes into effect as quickly as possible. The Government has no plans to back date the code to 7 February 2022.
The Code will ensure the best possible protection for motorists and parking companies alike, for this reason it will require a need for a grace period to be in place at the end of a permitted parking period.
The Government is aware of the concerns being raised regarding the existing appeals services. Alongside the introduction of the new Private Parking Code of Practice, the Government will be establishing a new, second stage appeals service which is straightforward to use and accessible to all. We will monitor the effectiveness of the new service and take action to make improvements where necessary.
Additionally, operator staff will be required to undergo relevant training.
Asked by: Beth Winter (Labour - Cynon Valley)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what his planned timetable is for publishing a new private parking code of practice.
Answered by Jacob Young - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
The Government is taking action to improve the regulation of the private parking industry and is committed to working with both consumer and industry groups to ensure the code comes into effect as quickly as possible. The Government has no plans to back date the code to 7 February 2022.
The Code will ensure the best possible protection for motorists and parking companies alike, for this reason it will require a need for a grace period to be in place at the end of a permitted parking period.
The Government is aware of the concerns being raised regarding the existing appeals services. Alongside the introduction of the new Private Parking Code of Practice, the Government will be establishing a new, second stage appeals service which is straightforward to use and accessible to all. We will monitor the effectiveness of the new service and take action to make improvements where necessary.
Additionally, operator staff will be required to undergo relevant training.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will have discussions with representatives of Apple on potential steps to tackle fraud relating to Apple Gift cards.
Answered by Tom Tugendhat - Minister of State (Home Office) (Security)
Government is committed to tackling online fraud and holding those who profit from it to account by working closely with industry, regulators and consumer groups to consider legislative and non-legislative solutions.
This includes continuing work on digital identity and data protection and work with the telecommunications and other sectors to target harden systems and design out key online vulnerabilities.
We have launched Stop! Think Fraud, a new campaign led by the Home Office in collaboration with many organisations across government, law enforcement, banking, tech firms, and charities to give people the tools and information they need to stay ahead of scams, and help protect themselves against fraud.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will take steps to tackle fraud using gift cards.
Answered by Tom Tugendhat - Minister of State (Home Office) (Security)
Government is committed to tackling online fraud and holding those who profit from it to account by working closely with industry, regulators and consumer groups to consider legislative and non-legislative solutions.
This includes continuing work on digital identity and data protection and work with the telecommunications and other sectors to target harden systems and design out key online vulnerabilities.
We have launched Stop! Think Fraud, a new campaign led by the Home Office in collaboration with many organisations across government, law enforcement, banking, tech firms, and charities to give people the tools and information they need to stay ahead of scams, and help protect themselves against fraud.
Asked by: Matthew Pennycook (Labour - Greenwich and Woolwich)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, when she plans to bring Part 8, Chapter 1 of the Energy Act 2023 into force.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Department consulted on heat network consumer protection requirements in 2023 and will respond to the consultation shortly. Heat network regulation will be introduced in three phases:
Asked by: Imran Hussain (Labour - Bradford East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether HMRC has made a recent assessment of the adequacy of consumer protection regulation for individuals submitting tax rebate applications to HMRC through accounting companies.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government is committed to maintaining trust in the tax system and working with taxpayers to help them get their tax right. However, the Government is aware that some taxpayers face issues and feel misled when using companies that specialise in claiming tax refunds from HMRC.
The Government is working with regulators and other key partners to ensure that the current legal framework is robust in prohibiting harmful business practices to consumer contracts. This includes introducing expectations of transparency in the HMRC Standard for Agents, updated in January 2023, to ensure customers are made aware of the agent’s fees and charging structure.
There are many ways in which a customer can authorise a third party to act on their behalf. HMRC is also developing options for a more modern and secure approach to agent authorisation.
HMRC continues to monitor tax agents and challenge them when there are potential concerns about their practices. HMRC then takes action by either issuing penalties, suspending claims or refusing to deal with an agent, and wherever necessary working with the Police to support their investigations.