Department for Business and Trade written question – answered at on 4 November 2025.
Tim Roca
Labour, Macclesfield
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether his Department is taking steps with (a) Google UK and (b) other search engines to help tackle advertisements by fraudulent locksmiths.
Kate Dearden
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Online platforms must comply with The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act which prohibits unfair trading, including misleading omissions and actions. The Act clarifies that online platforms must exercise professional diligence in relation to consumer transactions promoted or made on their platforms. The legislation carries criminal penalties and is enforced by Trading Standards officers.
The Government encourages consumers to use providers that operate under a regulated trusted trader scheme, such as the Master Locksmiths Association (MLA), which has a Police Crime Prevention-approved licensing scheme in place to ensure approved locksmiths are appropriately vetted, inspected and qualified.
Yes0 people think so
No0 people think not
Would you like to ask a question like this yourself? Use our Freedom of Information site.
Secretary of State was originally the title given to the two officials who conducted the Royal Correspondence under Elizabeth I. Now it is the title held by some of the more important Government Ministers, for example the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.
