asked the Secretary of State for Trade whether the Monopolies and Mergers Commission inquiry into credit card franchising includes investigation of the pricing policy of retail companies which issue in-store credit cards.

The terms of reference sent to the Commission for this investigation specified that for the purpose of the reference "credit card" did not include "a credit card for acquisition from only one supplier or group of suppliers under common ownership or control or trading under a common business name". The interpretation of its terms of reference is a matter for the Commission.