To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what assessment he has made of the extent to which tour operators in the activity holiday market comply with the Package Holidays and Package Tours Regulations in terms of financial protection for their customers; and what powers he has to take action against companies which do not comply with the regulations. (188018)

My Department has made no assessment of the extent to which businesses offering activity holidays comply with the requirement in the Package Travel, Package Holidays and Package Tours Regulations 1992 (SI 1992/3288) that they should be able to provide sufficient evidence of security for the refund of money paid over and for the repatriation of the consumer in the event of insolvency. Non-compliance by the activity holidays sector with this element of the Regulations is not the subject of any significant number of complaints to my Department, notwithstanding the hon. Member's recent correspondence on behalf of a business within his constituency.

Local authority trading standards officers have powers to enforce the Regulations and, where necessary, prosecute in the criminal courts.