asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer since the Council directive 77/62/EEC came into effect on 1st July 1978, which requires all public service contracts with more than 200,000 European units of account—approximately £130,000—to be advertised, how many open and restricted tenders have been advertised by Her Majesty's Government; how many have been advertised by other EEC countries, open and restricted, and if he will list these, country by country; what is the value of the United Kingdom contracts and what is the value of the contracts advertised by other EEC countries, country by country; how many contracts have been awarded outside of the United Kingdom and to which countries; when legislation in Western Germany, France, Italy, Belgium and the Republic of Ireland will be finalised; what action is being taken by the EEC Commission to ensure that this directive is complied with; and if, in the meantime, Her Majesty's Government will give up advertising these contracts until other countries come into line, in view of the damage which will be caused to the textile industry by so doing.

pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 23rd November 1978], gave the following reply:In the period to 18th November there have been 232 advertisements for supplies requirements in the EEC Official Journal, 187 being on the restricted basis and 45 on the open basis. Following is the breakdown between member States:

		Restricted	Open	Total
United Kingdom	ߪ	172	37	209
Denmark	ߪ	12	—	12
Belgium	ߪ	1	7	8
France	ߪ	2	1	3

There is no information available on the total value of contracts advertised; there is no requirement to state the value of contracts in the advertisements. It is un- likely that contracts advertised by the United Kingdom have led so far to orders being placed outside the United Kingdom. The Government have made clear to the Commission and other member States their serious concern over the present situation. The Commission has written to the member States concerned reminding them of their obligations and is considering action under article 169 of the Treaty of Rome. The Government are keeping the position closely under review. Latest indications are that most other member States will have completed their legislative and administrative arrangements for implementing the directive by the end of this year.