Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if she will conduct a review into the regulation of (a) sales of caravans and (b) management fees at static caravan sites.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Caravan park owners and operators are subject to consumer protection legislation in the same way as any other business which has dealings with consumers.
For example, under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 (CRA), goods purchased (including caravans) have to be as described, of a satisfactory quality, and fit for a particular purpose.
The CRA also protects consumers from unfair contractual terms being applied by traders such as park operators.
We are further strengthening the enforcement of this framework in the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill. Therefore, the Government has no plans to further regulate the sales of caravans.
Asked by: Alyn Smith (Scottish National Party - Stirling)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what recent steps he has taken with Cabinet colleagues to help protect consumers from being mis-sold timeshare arrangements.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Timeshare, Holiday Products, Resale and Exchange Contracts Regulations 2010, as amended in 2018, provide consumers with robust protections relating to the sale, marketing and content of timeshare contracts. We keep the system under review and engage with industry representatives as appropriate.
Furthermore, the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations (2008), which prohibit unfair commercial practices, are being restated in the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill, currently in Parliament. Unfair commercial practices include misleading actions and omissions which are likely to persuade consumers into taking decisions they otherwise would not have.
Asked by: Alyn Smith (Scottish National Party - Stirling)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what discussions his Department has had with industry stakeholders on tackling (a) misrepresentation and (b) aggressive sales of holiday timeshares.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Timeshare, Holiday Products, Resale and Exchange Contracts Regulations 2010, as amended in 2018, provide consumers with robust protections relating to the sale, marketing and content of timeshare contracts. We keep the system under review and engage with industry representatives as appropriate.
Furthermore, the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations (2008), which prohibit unfair commercial practices, are being restated in the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill, currently in Parliament. Unfair commercial practices include misleading actions and omissions which are likely to persuade consumers into taking decisions they otherwise would not have.
Asked by: Alyn Smith (Scottish National Party - Stirling)
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 prevent consumers being mis-sold timeshare agreements.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Timeshare, Holiday Products, Resale and Exchange Contracts Regulations 2010, as amended in 2018, provide consumers with robust protections relating to the sale, marketing and content of timeshare contracts. We keep the system under review and engage with industry representatives as appropriate.
Furthermore, the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations (2008), which prohibit unfair commercial practices, are being restated in the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill, currently in Parliament. Unfair commercial practices include misleading actions and omissions which are likely to persuade consumers into taking decisions they otherwise would not have.
Asked by: Tulip Siddiq (Labour - Hampstead and Kilburn)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing the compulsory labelling of products to indicate whether they were British-made or imported.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Aside from certain specified products such as food there is no requirement for goods to be labelled with their country of origin. The Government does not have plans to introduce such a requirement on behalf of consumers.
Under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008, traders are banned from using misleading statements about the geographical or commercial origin of products including in response to requests for information by consumers.
Asked by: Kim Leadbeater (Labour - Batley and Spen)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether she has (a) made an assessment of the implications for her policies of (i) trends in the level of fee increases and (ii) other business practices of holiday parks and (b) had recent discussions with the Competition and Markets Authority on those issues.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Caravan park owners and operators are subject to consumer protection legislation. They are also subject to planning and site licensing rules overseen by local authorities.
We believe the existing consumer protection legislation provides the tools necessary for tackling rogue practices in this sector. However, we have announced our intention to strengthen consumer enforcement and have brought forward additional measures as part of the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill.
The department has not discussed these issues with the Competition and Markets Authority recently.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if she will take steps to improve the (a) regulation and (b) monitoring of locksmiths to help prevent exploitative practices in that industry.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
There is a robust framework of consumer protection law that all traders, including locksmiths, must comply with which requires that services are delivered to a high standard and consumers have means of redress when they are not.
Consumers are encouraged to use service providers that operate under a regulated trusted trader scheme, such as the Master Locksmiths Association (MLA), which has a robust licensing scheme in place to ensure approved locksmiths are appropriately vetted, inspected and qualified.
We are further strengthening the enforcement of this framework in the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill. Therefore, the Government has no plans to further regulate the locksmith sector.
Asked by: Geraint Davies (Independent - Swansea West)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether she plans to issue guidance to (a) owners, (b) operators and (c) occupiers of large buildings in Greater London on recent changes to the law affecting how they should connect to and use heat networks.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Department has recently completed a consultation on consumer protection for heat network customers and intends to lay secondary legislation before Parliament in 2024. We will also publish a consultation on zoning regulations for heat networks shortly. The Department is engaging with heat network customers, owners, operators, and other key stakeholders to inform them of future changes to heat networks policy, and to ensure that regulations provide fair prices for consumers, mitigate risk for heat network developers and ensure heat networks form an effective part of the UK’s net-zero commitment.
Asked by: Damien Moore (Conservative - Southport)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will make an assessment of (a) the adequacy of the support provided to people making complaints against solicitors and (b) the potential merits of (i) increasing the support provided throughout the complaints process and (ii) simplifying the complaints process.
Answered by Mike Freer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The legal profession in England and Wales together with its regulators, operates independently of the Government. The responsibility for regulating the sector sits with the approved regulators, overseen by the Legal Services Board (LSB).
The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) is the approved regulator for solicitors. The SRA is responsible for handling complaints regarding solicitor conduct, complaints can be made via their website at https://www.sra.org.uk/consumers/problems/report-solicitor/.
If a consumer is dissatisfied with the service provided by a solicitor, they can log a complaint with the Legal Ombudsman. This can be done via their website at https://www.legalombudsman.org.uk/make-a-complaint/.
The LSB recently led a consultation (24 August – 17 November 2023) on proposals to ensure that people who use legal services have access to fair and effective complaint procedures. The proposals aim to strengthen consumer protection and improve the overall quality and standards of legal services.
Their new proposal focuses on bettering the current complaints procedures. It sets clear outcomes for regulators to deliver, including collecting and analysing intelligence on complaints to support the best possible redress system, as well as fostering a culture of learning and continuous improvement. By engaging regulators on key issues, the LSB aims to drive higher standards in the provision of legal services across the board. The LSB will consider the feedback they receive and in turn make appropriate changes to their draft policy. A response to their consultation will be issued in early 2024, alongside the final Requirements, Guidance and statement of policy.
Asked by: Lord Clement-Jones (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Viscount Camrose on 3 April (HL6992), whether the incumbent operator in each area have informed consumers that before committing to a new two year full fibre service contract with them they can research other full fibre options available to them in their area.
Answered by Viscount Camrose - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government has strengthened Ofcom’s consumer protection rules to ensure consumers have the right level of information to make informed decisions.
As part of this, in February 2020, Ofcom brought in rules requiring communication providers to send a notification to customers nearing the end of their contract, encouraging them to get a new contract. These rules also require providers to send an annual notification for their consumers who are-out-contract, setting out the provider’s best available deals to the consumer.
Within the end-of-contract notification, providers must inform customers of the precise date their contract expires; notice periods should they wish to leave; the best offer available for renewal as well as the price they will pay if they take no action. Providers are not required to advise consumers if competitor services are present in their local area.
Ofcom are responsible for monitoring provider compliance with end-of-contract notification regulations, and recently took action against a provider who failed to issue information to their customers. Using the information contained within their end-of-contract notification, customers can find out what providers operate in their area using Ofcom’s broadband checker. Customers are also able to use one of the Ofcom accredited price comparison sites to see what offers they can access and how they compare to the best deal offered by their current provider.