asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will use his powers to lay down stan- dardised prescribed quantities for the sale of yoghourt.

There is undoubtedly scope for reducing the variety of existing practices within the trade, and I intend to invite trade and consumer interests to suggest possible means of rationalisation.

I thank my hon. Friend for that reply, but will he speed matters up a bit? Is he aware that the Weights and Measures Inspectorate recently pointed out that control of prices would be very much easier if far more goods were packed in standardised packs, such as I have been advocating for two years and more?

On my hon. Friend's specific Question about yoghourt, I have to tell her that marked variations in consistency which have been developing recently have probably contributed to the diversity of markings. I hope she will feel that this is a matter on which consumers and the trade should be left to form their opinions, and there is no need to rush matters.