I beg to move amendment 79, in clause 264, page 176, line 31, after “period” insert “or date”.

This amendment corrects a drafting error.

With this it will be convenient to discuss the following:

Clause stand part.

Clauses 265 to 271 stand part.

Government amendments 80 to 82.

Clauses 272 and 273 stand part.

Clauses 264 to 273 set out how to determine when information or notices are deemed to have been given and where the burden of proof lies in any dispute. Clause 264 sets out how to determine whether a trader or consumer has taken action as required by this chapter, and who is responsible for proving that.

Government amendment 79 is a drafting amendment to ensure consistency across the affected subsection as to when a consumer is treated as having given notice of their desire to end or cancel their subscription contract. The amendment is important to ensure that the clause works as intended, and I hope Members agree that it necessary.

Clause 265 will ensure that any term in a subscription contract that conflicts with this chapter will have no legal effect. That includes any term that seeks to exclude or restrict a trader’s liability arising from the implied terms of this chapter. In cases specified in regulations under clause 269(1)(e), the clause will also prevent traders’ contract terms from allowing them to take a renewal payment before the day on which a subscription contract renews.

Clause 266 sets out that a consumer can seek legal remedies, other than those set out in the chapter, if a trader breaches a term of a subscription contract. They can claim those remedies, in addition to ones under this chapter, as long as they do not recover twice for the same loss.

Clause 267 ensures that the measures in the chapter will apply where a UK consumer and an overseas trader agree a contract governed by a foreign law if the contract has a close connection with the UK. Whether that is the case will depend on the circumstances, including whether the overseas-based trader targeted the consumer in the UK. That will ensure that traders cannot avoid providing UK consumers with the protections of this chapter simply by operating or structuring their operations overseas. The clause also makes it clear that the chapter applies only to new contracts and not to existing ones, reflecting the usual principle that new regulatory requirements should not operate retrospectively. Clause 268 sets out that this chapter applies to the Crown.

Clause 269 sets out the powers for the Secretary of State to make regulations in relation to a number of matters covered by this chapter, including regulations related to information and notices that traders must provide to consumers, arrangements traders must make to enable consumers to exit their contracts, and details regarding overpayments and refunds. Regulations may also restrict what notice period traders can require from consumers to end their contract. Most of the areas covered by this power involve matters of detail on which the Government will likely want to make different provision for different kinds of cases and contract models.

Clause 270 amends the Consumer Rights Act 2015. This ensures that pre-contract information given by a trader is treated as a binding term of the subscription contract that cannot be changed without the consumer’s express agreement. Clause 271 sets out consequential amendments to existing legislation—in particular, the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013.

Clause 272 sets out how important terms and phrases in this chapter are to be interpreted, for clarity. Government amendments 80, 81 and 82 to the clause remove the words “pre-contract information” from the definition of “durable medium” to ensure that its definition is compatible with its use throughout the chapter. These amendments are important for accuracy of the Bill, and I therefore encourage Members to support their inclusion.

Finally, clause 273 provides an index of expressions used throughout this chapter, to make the chapter easier to navigate. I therefore invite Members to support Government amendments 79 to 82 and clauses 264 to 272.

I welcome the speed with which we are moving through these clauses. Clause 264 specifies the timing and burden of proof for information and notices that are given under this chapter. For the electronic communication of notices or information, the clause makes it clear that delivery would be deemed instantaneous, even if the consumer does not receive the notice due to a reason beyond the trader’s control.

Subsection (6) specifies that in a dispute as to whether any information or notice has been given to the consumer, the burden of proof would be on the trader. We welcome that provision. However, under subsection (7), the burden of proof would be on the consumer in any dispute regarding whether a notice to end a contract or cancel it was sent to the trader, or with regard to the timing of that notice.

While the Opposition recognise the need for a balanced burden of proof, I draw the Minister’s attention to the written evidence submitted by consumer group Which?, which states in relation to subsection (7):

“We think this is unfair as it would create a disproportionate burden on consumers in situations where consumers cancel via means under the control of the trader. An example of this would be completing an online form, from the traders website, where no explicit confirmation has been given that the subscription has been cancelled.”

Can the Minister outline, for the benefit of the Committee, what will happen in such cases, where the consumer must cancel through a means that cannot be easily used or saved as evidence of cancellation? Does he not accept that in such circumstances, placing the burden of proof on the consumer is impractical, so there may need to be additional protections?

Amendment 79 corrects a drafting error, so we support it. Clause 265 introduces provisions such that any term in a contract contravening the regulations in this chapter has no legal effect. We welcome the clause ensuring that traders are unable to work their way around these regulations and therefore support its inclusion in the Bill.

Clause 266 clarifies that any rights the consumer may have under common law for breach of any term of a subscription contract are not limited by rights specified in this chapter. We welcome the clause ensuring that consumers are able to exercise both kinds of right in combination, providing ease for consumers.

Clause 267 introduces provisions regarding the application of this chapter. It sets out that if a trader were to choose the law of another country to govern a subscription contract but the contract has a close connection to the UK, chapter 2 would still apply. We welcome this common-sense clause, which enables the regime to be effectively enforced.

Under clause 268, the Crown would be bound by the provisions in chapter 2 but would not be criminally liable as a result. It would be helpful for the Minister to clarify what those circumstances might be, so that we can understand the provision more clearly.

Clause 269 grants the Secretary of State a delegated power to make regulations in relation to how and when information or a notice required to be given by traders to consumers under chapter 2 may or must be given, what information notices given under chapter 2 must contain, what arrangements a trader must make under clause 252 to enable consumers to end contracts, and when a consumer may exercise such a right, specifying the period in which a trader must refund an overpayment. While the Opposition recognise the need for this delegated power, it is not clear to us why these regulations are being left to secondary legislation and are not on the face of the Bill. I would be grateful if the Minister could clarify that and the reason for the regulations being subject to the negative procedure.

Clause 270 makes consequential amendments to the specified sections of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 and will ensure that information given to consumers as part of the pre-contract information required under chapter 2 is treated as a term of the contract. In effect, traders would not be able to make changes to the matters covered by this pre-contract information without the agreement of the consumer. We welcome that provision.

Clause 271 makes further consequential amendments to other legislation, and we support it. Clause 272 sets out general interpretations for this chapter, including definitions of “business”, “consumer”, “goods”, “trader” and “working day”. We support the clause and welcome its inclusion. Amendments 80 to 82 have the effect of expanding the definition of “durable medium” for the purposes of this chapter. We support these amendments. Clause 273 provides an index of defined expressions in the clause. It is self-explanatory, and we support it.

The shadow Minister makes some fair points. In terms of the requirement for the consumer to prove cancellation, as she no doubt recognises, clause 6 contains obligations on the trader as well, to ensure that there is a burden of proof on them as to whether the information notice had been given by the trader to the consumer.

Clause 253 requires the trader to send an acknowledgment to the consumer that they received the notice to end the contract. We also address this in business and consumer guidance. This approach to burden of proof and the trader’s duty to confirm receipt of cancellation via their website is in line with the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013. Businesses and consumer advice bodies are familiar with those regulations, and traders should be used to complying with them.

There is no policy justification for emanations and servants of the Crown not to be bound by this chapter if they are entering a contract with consumers of the kind regulated by this chapter.

We will certainly work with businesses, regulators and consumer groups in developing the regulations under these chapters to ensure they are fair and proportionate, and to make sure that the arrangements for things like how traders issue reminder notices work for both parties.

Amendment 79 agreed to.

Clause 264, as amended, ordered to stand part of the Bill.

Clauses 265 to 271 ordered to stand part of the Bill.