We are lucky here in the UK to have such a thriving live music scene and so many great sports teams to watch.

There is an enormous variety, and a genre of music and type of sport to suit everyone.

But we have all been there – trying to get tickets to see your favourite band but finding that the gig is all sold out. You are left with missing out and hoping they will be touring again soon or trying to find another way of getting hold of a ticket.

In desperation to be able to see the band they love so much, people often then go to resale websites to try and buy some tickets from others who are selling them on.

Andrew Griffiths, the MP for Burton will not see any changes to his constituency
Andrew Griffiths, the MP for Burton

Unfortunately this is when fans can fall foul of ticket touts, and sadly many end up ripped off, paying sky high prices or not actually getting the tickets they thought they had purchased at all.

As Consumer Minister, this is one of the things that I am responsible for, and I want to make sure that genuine fans are able to buy tickets to see their favourite bands or go to watch their favourite sporting events without being ripped off by ticket touts who are trying to make some money out of real fans.

That is why in April, I announced new rules that will mean that tickets sold on resale websites have to include the unique ticket number, as well as information about the ticket such as whether it is seated or standing.

They also have to state what the original cost of the ticket was, so that those who are buying the tickets can see if they are getting a good deal or not.

The idea behind doing this is that requiring those who are selling tickets on to provide more information will help to improve transparency and make sure that fans know what they are really buying.

We have also cracked down on touts that use bots to bypass online ticket purchasing limits and instead buy them in bulk only to sell them on at massively inflated prices, by making it a criminal offence punishable by huge fines.

No one wants to be in the position where they have to shell out hundreds or even thousands of pounds to see a band when the real ticket price was actually much lower, or even missing out altogether because they thought they had bought certain tickets only to find that they had been misled by the seller.

These new rules demonstrate the Government's commitment to making sure that real fans get to see their favourite bands at the right prices and that our live music and sporting events scene continue to grow and thrive.