Source · Select Committees · Business and Trade Committee
Recommendation 16
16
Accepted
Paragraph: 127
The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the negative effects of weak competition in some industries for...
Conclusion
The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the negative effects of weak competition in some industries for consumers. Consumers have increasingly experienced rip- offs and asymmetry of information.
Government Response Summary
The Government agrees with the Committee’s assessment and states they plan to strengthen consumer protection law through the forthcoming Digital Markets, Competition and Consumer Bill, provides funding to Citizens Advice, and supports consumer awareness campaigns.
Paragraph Reference:
127
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
The Government agrees with the Committee’s assessment of consumer protection law, and plans to strengthen it through the forthcoming Digital Markets, Competition and Consumer Bill. To ensure consumers are given information about their rights, BEIS provides £11.4 million per annum in funding to Citizens Advice to deliver the Citizens Advice consumer service in addition to the £22.3 million funding for its core services. The consumer service provides advice on general consumer issues (and specific advice for energy and postal consumers) across England and Wales. The service is delivered by telephone and online. General consumer advice includes pre-shopping tips, information on consumer rights, advice on how to solve specific problems, and referrals to partners for additional help or enforcement action and help and information about Alternate Dispute Resolution. BEIS also supports the delivery of the annual Scams Awareness and National Consumer Week 6 Post pandemic economic growth: State aid and post-Brexit competition policy: Government Response campaigns which aim to raise awareness of consumer rights, empower consumers to take action and, in the case of scams, report them. Delivery of consumer advice is devolved to the Scottish Government and Northern Ireland Assembly. National Trading Standards (NTS) and Trading Standards Scotland (TSS) receive funding of £12 million and £1.2 million per year respectively from BEIS to underpin the consumer rights framework by enforcing against the highest priority breaches of the law. Between 2014 and 2021, NTS tackled over £1 billion in consumer and business detriment for a core spend of £91.5 million, equating to £11 impact for every £1 spent. TSS has tackled £74 million of consumer and business detriment since 2014 for a £8.7 million spend, equating to £9 impact for every £1 spent.