Written question asked by John Greenway (Conservative) on Monday, 7 January 2008, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 9 January 2008. It was answered by Gareth Thomas (Labour) on Monday, 14 January 2008 on behalf of the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform.

Unfair Commercial Practices Directive Regulations

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what timetable he envisages for the (a) publication, (b) consultation on and (c) implementation of the unfair commercial practices directive regulations. [R]

Answer: The Department of Trade and Industry consulted on draft Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations (CPRs) implementing the unfair commercial practices directive (UCPD) in May 2007. The draft CPRs reflect the outcome of two earlier consultations about implementing the UCPD. The first consultation paper was published in December 2005 and sought views in three areas: interpretation; enforcement; and simplification of existing legislation. The second consultation in December 2006 sought views on how to frame the criminal offences in the regulations implementing the directive.I propose to lay the draft CPRs before Parliament in January. If approved in debate the regulations will come into force on 6 April 2008.

Secondary information