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Software: Licensing

Asked by Samantha NiblettLabourDepartment for Business and TradeTabled Answered 21 July 2025UIN 68148

The question

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of restrictive software licensing practices on (a) efficiency and (b) innovation in businesses.

Answered by Justin Madders

There are currently no plans to make such an assessment by the Department. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is examining software licensing practices as part of its market investigation into cloud services. Its final report must be published by 4 August and Government will review the CMA's findings.

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