asked the Secretary of State for Industry if he will make a statement about the Post Office's inquiries into the pricing of telephone cables before 1975.

The Post Office has informed me that its inquiries have been completed. The chairman, Sir William Barlow, has announced today that a financial settlement has been reached with the four companies concerned, under which they will repay £9 million to the Post Office by way of adjustment of the prices charged before 1975 when they were operating unregistered agreements.