There is existing legislation in place to protect fans, as consumers, when they buy tickets. The Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 and the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 ensure consumers are given key information before they buy from a trader.

These Regulations exist alongside the Fraud Act 2006 which encompasses frauds involving tickets.

Whilst we do not believe that further legislation is required on the specific issue of ticket fraud, the Government is reflecting on the best way to respond to the debate on tickets during Lords Report Stage of the Consumer Rights Bill.

EU Directive 2011/99/EU on the European Protection Order comes into force on 11 January 2015 and the Government plans to implement it by way of statutory instrument made under section 2(2) of the European Communities Act 1972, on the same day. At the same time, the Government will also implement the related EU Regulation on the mutual recognition of protection measures in civil matters, (606/3013) which comes into force on the same day.

As the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 and associated guidance make clear. The provision of certain information on tickets offered for sale to the public is an existing requirement for traders (including “for a ticket associated with a particular reserved seat (e.g. Seat 1, Row A) the seat number”).

However, since Report Stage I have been discussing these issues with Ministerial colleagues and interested parties, and will continue to do so, in order to ensure the genuine concerns of fans and ticket sellers are addressed.

The Government has issued guidance relating to online ticket sales in the context of the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013. This guidance establishes how the requirements of these Regulations regarding transparency are interpreted for this market. This ensures that consumers purchasing tickets online from a trader are made aware of “their total price (including delivery costs and other charges)” and the “main characteristics” of the tickets, where “main characteristics” includes “the date and time of the event and the content of the event (e.g. who is performing)” and “for a ticket associated with a particular reserved seat (e.g. Seat 1, Row A) the seat number”.

The Government is clear that there is more to be done for victims and to minimise the risk of such terrible events occurring in Rotherham or anywhere else in the future. What happened in Rotherham was a complete dereliction of duty.

This is why the Home Secretary has been chairing a series of Secretaries of State meetings alongside colleagues from the Ministry of Justice, Department for Education, Communities and Local Government and Department of Health, and the Attorney General and Solicitor General to analyse the failures identified in the Jay report and consider how all parties, including the police and local government, can work together more effectively on the issue of child sexual exploitation to protect vulnerable children and bring offenders to justice.

This will build on the existing work of the Home Office-led National Group to tackle sexual violence against children and vulnerable people, which is ensuring agencies are working together to better identify those at risk.

The Jay report made a ‘conservative estimate’ that there were over 1400 victims of CSE during the 15-year period. The 1400 figure was based on a reading of 66 case files, out of a total of 988, and includes some who were forced to watch others being assaulted and abused as well as those who were physically harmed.

The Government is determined that appalling cases of child abuse should be exposed so that perpetrators face justice and the vulnerable are protected. Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) are able to apply for Special Grant if the police force they are responsible for faces an unexpected and exceptional event that places a significant financial burden on the force.

TrustMark (2005) Ltd (TrustMark) operate the TrustMark Scheme. TrustMark aims to marginalise unscrupulous traders by identifying to consumers traders who have been inspected for both trade competence and good trading practice.

The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) receives a small volume of correspondence from individuals each year relating to TrustMark. These communications are passed to the TrustMark Board to investigate the actions of their Scheme Operators which would include NAPIT should the case arise. The Department does not hold records of communications about specific Scheme Operators as these are audited and monitored by TrustMark and not BIS.

In 2011 a consumer body provided views about the scheme to the Department; those views were fed into a review of the scheme which the TrustMark Board undertook in 2013.

The Department for Education's statutory safeguarding guidance to local authorities, contained in ‘Working Together to Safeguard Children’, is clear on what action authorities have to take if they are concerned about the safety and welfare of any child in their area.

The department does not regard an excessively narrow curriculum as a child protection matter, although such provision does relate to parents’ duty to ensure that children of compulsory school age receive a suitable full-time education, and the duty of local authorities to identify children who are not receiving such an education.

The department works closely with authorities when unregistered provision is identified to ensure that it is either registered or closed, and that safeguarding concerns are dealt with promptly.

Local authorities, with the help of other organisations as appropriate, have a duty to make enquiries under section 47 of the Children Act 1989 if they have reasonable cause to suspect that a child is suffering, or is likely to suffer, significant harm. A belief that a girl may have been involved in an under-age marriage should lead to such an assessment.

Where a local authority encounters concerns about a child’s welfare that constitute, or may constitute, an offence against a child, social workers should discuss the case with the police at the earliest opportunity. Offences may have been committed by the girl’s parents, or by her ‘husband’. Legislation that came into force earlier in 2014 means that forced marriage is now a criminal offence.

Statutory guidance on multi-agency working to safeguard children from harm is contained in ‘Working Together to Safeguard Children’,[1] which the Government published in 2013 and updated in June 2014. Statutory guidance and multi-agency practice guidelines on forced marriage,[2] also updated in June 2014, provides information and advice for all relevant services, including schools, who are advised to make referrals to children’s social care or the police if they have any concerns about a girl being affected by forced marriage.

[1] https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/281368/Working_together_to_safeguard_children.pdf

[2] https://www.gov.uk/forced-marriage

On 31 July this year the UK Statement of Principles on Parcel Deliveries, developed through collaboration between Citizens Advice and the British Retail Consortium, was published. The Principles set out best practice for businesses, such as parcel delivery firms, on how they can ensure fair delivery prices, consumers can obtain delivery cost information upfront and get clear directions to the terms and conditions. This will help consumers to be better informed about online retailers’ pricing policies in particular with regard to delivering to consumers in remote communities. The Statement of Principles is available on the Citizens Advice website: http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/scotland/news/whats_new_sep14_statement_of_principles_for_parcel_deliveries_now_covers_the_uk.htm.

If a consumer has a problem with a parcel delivery firm they can contact the Citizens Advice consumer helpline on 08454 04 05 06 or through their website (https://www.adviceguide.org.uk) which offers a free service on how consumers can proceed with their complaints.

Currently, Citizens Advice is giving Christmas shopping tips, with guidance on what consumers can do if they suffer delivery problems when buying Christmas gifts. This advice can be found on their website: http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/england/news/whats_new_dec14_christmas_shopping_tips.htm.

In addition, the Consumer Rights Bill which is currently before Parliament, will clarify and enhance consumer rights and remedies when contracting with traders for the provision of services, such as parcel delivery firms. This will make it clear for the first time that if traders breach the rights set out in the Bill, the trader is required to re-perform the service to bring it up to scratch or failing that offers a reduction in price. We have been working closely with consumer groups, including Citizens Advice, to develop an effective publicity campaign, including the use of social media to raise consumers’ awareness of these new rights. The Citizens Advice website will be updated by 1 October 2015 when the Bill is anticipated to come into force.

The guide to Parliamentary work (available on the Cabinet Office website at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guide-to-parliamentary-work and already in the Library of the House) sets out that Government departments can refuse to answer a question where the cost of responding to that question would be above the disproportionate cost threshold, which is currently set at £850. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office calculated that collating a response to the hon. Member’s question would exceed this threshold.

Ofcom, the UK Regulator for Telecoms, oversees the General Conditions of Entitlement (GCEs), the rules under which Telecoms companies must operate in the UK. GC 9.6 provides consumer protection in the event of mid-contract variations. Under GC 9.6, providers must give customers notice of contract modifications (e.g. price rises) likely to cause ‘material detriment’ to them and the right to exit the contract without penalty in response. Ofcom published guidance at the start of this year clarifying these rules and further enabling competition in the market to deliver a choice of competitive tariffs for the consumer in the UK.
Major telecoms companies have also agreed to work with the Government and Ofcom on ways to improve transparency in contracts in line with the principles underpinning the Ofcom guidance. The Government and the Regulator will continue to work with the industry to promote further ways of ensuring that consumers have the best possible information to help them make informed choices about the communications services they purchase.

The Government is determined that appalling cases of child abuse should be exposed so that perpetrators face justice and the vulnerable are protected. The Government is clear that there is more to be done for victims and to minimise the risk of such terrible events occurring in Rotherham or anywhere else in the future.

The Home Secretary has been chairing a series of Secretaries of State meetings alongside colleagues from the Ministry of Justice, Department for Education, Communities and Local Government and Department of Health, and the Attorney General and Solicitor General to analyse the failures identified in the Jay report and consider how all parties, including the criminal justice system, local government, the health service and the voluntary sector, can work together more effectively to support and protect victims of child sexual exploitation.

The Secretary of State for Education has appointed a Children’s Social Care Commissioner, Malcolm Newsam, to examine the nature and scale of the problems and oversee and drive improvements in children’s social care functions.

On the basis of the Commissioner’s initial work and when the review of Rotherham Council's corporate governance reports, the Secretary of State will consider what further action is needed.

A statutory direction to Rotherham is published by the Department and is available online at: www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/363018/Final_direction_to_Rotherham_Council_10_Oct_2014.pdf

The Department for Education has not made a formal assessment of the effectiveness of these guidelines and practices for approved adopters. However, there are clear eligibility criteria and statutory guidance on approving and assessing prospective adopters and foster carers.[1] The Government believes that these standards provide adequate safeguards for children in care.

[1] www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/321968/Adoption_Statutory_Guidance_2014.pdf

www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/336073/Stat_guidance_FFA__8_July_2014.pdf

www.gov.uk/government/publications/fostering-services-assessment-and-approval-of-foster-carers

All school staff have a responsibility to identify children who may be in need of extra help or who are suffering, or are likely to suffer, significant harm. All staff then have a responsibility to take appropriate action, working with other services as required. Those responsibilities, which apply to the risk of forced marriage as to any other form of abuse, are set out in ‘Keeping Children Safe in Education’ statutory guidance for schools and their staff which the Government published in April 2014.[1]

The statutory guidance contains links to more detailed guidance on specific risks, including multi-Agency guidelines on forced marriage.[2] The chapter of those guidelines which focuses on schools, colleges and universities indicates: what teachers should look out for, such as changes in behaviour or attendance or the early marriage of a sibling; how they can support girls, by giving access to support and advice; and what they should do if they suspect a girl is being forced into marriage, including activating local child protection procedures.

[1] www.gov.uk/government/publications/keeping-children-safe-in-education

[2] www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/322307/HMG_MULTI_AGENCY_PRACTICE_GUIDELINES_v1_180614_FINAL.pdf