Written questions by Sewards.

What steps her Department is taking to tackle the unlawful (a) sale and (b) supply of nitrous oxide.

The Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 (Amendment) Order 2023 came into force on 8 November 2023, classifying nitrous oxide as a Class C drug. It is illegal to produce, supply, import or export nitrous oxide where a person knows, or is reckless as to whether, it will be consumed for its psychoactive effects. The Home Office is responsible for drug policy and legislation. Schedule 20 to the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumer Act 2024 includes a provision prohibiting advertisements directly encouraging children to buy, or persuade their parents or other adults to buy, products for them. This prohibits retailers from advertising nitrous oxide to those under the age of 18 across any medium, including online.

What assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of the support available to small businesses for unsolicited sales approaches from third‑party intermediaries.

The government’s plan is to make the UK the best place to start and grow a business, with a culture that supports entrepreneurship in every community and high street. There is a range of support offers available to businesses and entrepreneurs including the new Business Growth Service, a network of Growth Hubs across England including the West Yorkshire Business Growth Hub and the Business Support Service, all providing free, impartial advice, information and guidance on starting up and running a business, including statutory rights and obligations for business owners.

Pursuant to the Answer of 4th March to Question 116233, if he will clarify (a) the timeline for introducing secondary legislation and (b) whether it will apply to all Common High Priority List items.

We expect to lay secondary legislation to deliver the sanctions end-use control this Spring, subject to the Parliamentary timetable.The sanctions end-use control is intended to apply to exports which are not already subject to strategic export controls, where a risk of circumvention to a sanctioned destination is identified. The full scope of this measure and details on its application and implementation will be set out in guidance upon laying the legislation.

What steps his Department is taking to enhance due diligence obligations on exporters of dual-use goods to help prevent diversion through Hong Kong.

The UK has introduced extensive trade sanctions to prevent Russia acquiring dual‑use items used in its military operations. Since March 2022, we have banned the export of all dual‑use goods and other high‑risk technologies, including products identified on the battlefield and items critical to Russia’s military‑industrial complex. Our comprehensive export sanctions have led Russia to pursue convoluted and costly routes to circumvent our measures via third-country intermediaries. Alongside extensive guidance and outreach to UK exporters on appropriate due diligence, we plan to bring forward secondary legislation to introduce new sanctions end-use controls. These new powers would require exporters to apply for a licence for specific exports identified to be at a high risk of diversion to a sanctioned destination.

What additional resources his Department has allocated to domestic enforcement bodies to (a) investigate and (b) prosecute sanctions evasion involving dual-use technologies exported to Russia through Hong Kong.

The Government has invested in strengthening trade sanctions enforcement capacity. The Office of Trade Sanctions Implementation (OTSI) was established in the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) in October 2024. Alongside specialist investigative capacity, OTSI is equipped with powers to enforce sanctions breaches involving the movement of goods and technology via third countries. His Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is responsible for enforcing export controls and trade sanctions at the UK border.HMRC has also strengthened its investigative capabilities in this area. DBT and HMRC work closely together to investigate potential sanctions evasion and enforce breaches.

Whether his Department is taking steps to improve consumer rights protections.

The Department for Business and Trade is implementing the new consumer rights introduced by the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024. The new consumer enforcement regime – which we will commence in April – gives the CMA new direct enforcement powers and introduces monetary penalties of up to 10% of global turnover for businesses that exploit their customers. The Act also updates consumers protections from unfair commercial practices and introduces new rights in relation to subscription traps and prepayments to savings schemes. Furthermore, amid a concerning feedback from consumers struggling to access tickets for popular events, the government has launched a public consultation on a range of measures in the ticket resale market that aim to better protect consumers and support the growth of the UK’s live events sector.

What steps his Department is taking to help support business investment into (a) Yorkshire and (b) northern Lincolnshire.

The Department works across the UK, including Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire, to showcase strong commercial investment opportunities to potential investors and support business to grow, and provides extensive support to small businesses through the network of Growth Hubs. This government is developing a modern industrial strategy to deliver the certainty and stability for business to invest and creating the National Wealth Fund to support its delivery and mobilise billions of pounds of investment in the UK’s growth industries. Through the Government owned British Business Bank, we are also investing over £1billion through their regional Investment Fund programmes, including supporting growing businesses across Yorkshire and northern Lincolnshire.