VerbatimParliament, as it happens

Software: Licensing

Asked by Samantha NiblettLabourDepartment for Business and TradeTabled Answered 19 December 2025UIN 99948

The question

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what discussions he has had with small and medium-sized enterprises on the potential impact of restrictive software licensing practices on their businesses.

Answered by Blair McDougall

Ministers regularly meet with businesses of all sizes.

Government is committed to delivering a competitive and prosperous digital economy. That is why we implemented the new digital markets regime on 1 January 2025. The Competition and Markets Authority now has bespoke powers to increase competition in digital markets.

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