asked the Secretary of State for Prices and Consumer Protection what is his estimate of the effect on prices of the 40 per cent. increase in profits over the last 12 months.

Based on the latest provisional estimate, the increase in company profits for the first quarter of 1977, over the same quarter for the previous year was just under 30 per cent. This resulted in part from North Sea oil operations and from exports. It is impossible to give a reliable estimate of the effect of the increase on domestic prices.