asked the Secretary of State for Prices and Consumer Protection what investigations her Department has made regarding the above average petrol prices charged when trading stamps are offered; and what guidelines her Department provides for the masked price offer, in general terms.

Officials have recently completed a study of petrol prices and the reasons why prices vary between different outlets. Guidance about prices is contained in the Price Code, which limits distributors' overall profit margins but not their freedom to adopt particular promotional techniques. I shall be making a statement on my Department's investigations shortly.