Government fails to provide answers about consumer protection Post-Brexit
The House of Lords EU Justice Sub-Committee has published the Government's response to its report 'Brexit: will consumers be protected?'
The Committee's report, published in December, sets out significant concerns about consumer protection post-Brexit. The Government's response, provided in February, does not offer solutions to these issues, and the Committee is reiterating the need for:
- details about how the UK will maintain access to cross-border mechanisms for cooperation between consumer protection organisations;
- clarity about how UK consumers' rights will be protected when they make purchases from the EU or visit EU destinations; and
- more resources for UK regulators and trading standards bodies to cope with increased workloads, at a time when they are already under pressure.
The report will be debated in the House of Lords Chamber in the near future, at which point the Committee hopes that the Government will provide further information.
Baroness Kennedy of The Shaws, Chair of the Lords EU Justice Sub-Committee said:
“The UK has a proud tradition of consumer protection which we have shared with the EU; and UK consumers benefit from EU-wide mechanisms that set standards and provide redress. We are again calling on the Government to explain exactly how the UK will retain these benefits after Brexit, so that consumers can have confidence when making purchases from the EU and when visiting the EU.”
Report and response are available here.
