asked the Secretary of State for Prices and Consumer Protection what steps she proposes to take to keep to a minimum further rises in the cost of bread to consumers.

asked the Secretary of State for Prices and Consumer Protection what steps she proposes to take to arrest the projected rise in the price of bread.

asked the Secretary of State for Prices and Consumer Protection what is her policy towards preventing further bread price increases.

As I announced on 20th March, I have made arrangements with the bakers to avoid the increase, which would have occurred on 25th March, in the price of loaves of 14 oz. and more.

I thank my right hon. Friend for that answer and I assure her how welcome her efforts are. Can she indicates how long she reasonably hopes to be able to hold down the price of bread and what further steps may be necessary in that direction in the immediate future?

I understand that there may be further cost increases in the pipeline, but if so these would have to be referred to the Price Commission in the normal way. I would be prepared to hold further discussions on such matters if that were to happen.

As the Prime Minister has designated the right hon. Lady as the focal point on all prices, will she say whether she was associated with am actions of her right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer in putting up the prices of electricity, petrol, coal and postage rates, which have more than wiped out any help in subsidies which may have been given to families—not only to the average family, but pensioners and poorer families?

The hon. Lady's supplementary question goes very much wider than the Question. There is a later Question on this matter.

Although the companies concerned have not made a profit on bread, does my right hon. Friend realise that, for example, Associated Foods made nearly £42 million profit in 1973, an increase of 27 per cent., and that Rank-Hovis-McDougall made a profit of nearly £28 million, an increase of nearly 18 per cent.? Is it necessary for the companies to make a profit in each separate department, or can the stronger carry the weaker? If not the latter, is it not about time that the whole thing was brought into public ownership?

My hon. Friend will agree that it is my responsibility to satisfy myself that no exceptional profits are being made on any goods which are subsidised, and I think that this is true about bread. With regard to the whole profits position, this is a matter for the Price Commission. My hon. Friend will be aware that we are considerably strengthening the code under which the Price Commission operates.

Is the right hon. Lady aware of the anxiety of many pensioners who live alone that the 14-oz. loaf is too big for them? Will she ensure that the subsidy operates on smaller loaves, since it is to the pensioners that the help should go?

It is my impression that the 14-oz loaf is the normal standard cheapest-for-value loaf and that smaller loaves are almost all of a specialist kind. If the hon. Gentleman will give me information on this matter, I shall be glad to look at it. Bread is a very important item in pensioners' diets and that is one reason why we have subsidised it.

Does not the right hon. Lady agree that, apart from the help she has given on bread, the total effect of the Government's measures in this respect has been to raise prices? As she has been designated by the Prime Minister with the focal responsibility of being in charge of prices generally, what will she do about the increase in prices that is the direct result of her right hon. Friend's Budget?

It is rather unfair to Members of Parliament who have tabled Questions much more relevant to this matter later on the Order Paper to try to take that question on bread subsidies.

asked the Secretary of State for Prices and Consumer Protection what has been the percentage increase in the price of bread since June 1970 to the latest available date.

On the basis of information collected for the purposes of the Index of Retail Food Prices, the price of bread rose by about 65 per cent. between 16th June 1970 and 19th February 1974.

Does my right hon. Friend think it disgraceful that the previous Government should allow bread to increase in such a fashion? Is not bread still one of the basic foods of the lower income group, and especially of old-age pensioners? Will my right hon. Friend do her best to ensure that the price of bread does not rise as it has done in the past? If we are short of money for subsidies, let us have a tax on wealth to make sure that we get it.

I am pleased to be able to give my hon. Friend that assurance.

As a loaf costs more in Northern Ireland than in England, even with the subsidy which the right hon. Lady has announced, will she do something to help the people of Northern Ireland, whose wages are lower than the average wages in England?

The hon. Gentleman will appreciate that millers in Northern Ireland get exactly the same subsidy as millers in any other part of the United Kingdom. That is the purpose of the bread subsidy. It will be of assistance to low wage earners such as those in parts of Northern Ireland. Under the terms of the bread subsidy we cannot consider the additional cost of transport, which the hon Gentleman will recognise is a different matter.

By what percentage did the world price of wheat rise during the same period?

I do not have the figure in front of me. I have no doubt that the world price of wheat increased rapidly during that time. I have never denied this. The difference between the present administration and the previous one is that we believe, for that very reason, that those of our people who depend upon bread for a substantial element of their diet should be subsidised.

asked the Secretary of State for Prices and Consumer Protection if she will take steps to encourage local authorities to introduce retail price monitoring services; and if she will make a statement.

I want to encourage local authorities to undertake retail price monitoring. I hope to discuss this with the local authority association shortly.

Does my hon. Friend accept that the one or two local authorities which have already set up committees or done some work in price monitoring believe that this has a useful marginal effect on prices in their areas? Does he accept that, thanks to the useful generative work carried out by him and by his right hon. Friend and the resulting competition to reduce prices, this is now more necessary than ever?

I agree with my hon. Friend. A number of local authorities have given very useful help in this area, and we hope that this may be extended.

asked the Secretary of State for Prices and Consumer Protection is she is satisfied with the working of the Supply of Goods (Implied Terms) Act.

I am keeping a close watch on the working of the Act. The Director General of Fair Trading has announced that he is considering making a reference to the Consumer Protection Advisory Committee with proposals to strengthen the protection given by the Act to consumers.

Is my hon. Friend satisfied that the motor trade is operating the Act fairly and conscientiously? In particular, is he satisfied that motor traders are paying compensation down to the point of accepting financial responsibility for the hire of a car, if necessary, where a person has been deprived of transport?

I am very concerned if there is any evidence that the spirit of the Act is not being fully carried out. If my hon. Friend has any information which he cares to give me, I shall be glad to consider it.

Is my hon. Friend aware that this useful Act unfortunately has no effect on the scandalous exclusion clauses commonly inserted in contracts for the supply of services, such as for car parking? When may we hope to have legislation to deal with that side of the matter?

As early as possible. When in opposition, I constantly drew the attention of the House and the then Minister to this area of scandal. However, my hon. and learned Friend is a lawyer and he will be aware that the Law Commissions for England and Wales and for Scotland are due to produce a report.

When?

It was on the basis of their last report that the present Act was passed. We shall implement as soon as possible any new report which they bring forward.

Is my hon. Friend aware that holiday camps are still operating exclusion clauses, that there was a particularly grievous accident last year when a person was killed and the husband of that person was unable to obtain compensation because of the exclusion clause in the contract, and that this is not covered by the Act?

I gave my previous answer for that very reason.

asked the Secretary of State for Prices and Consumer Protection whether she will announce her detailed proposals for food subsidies; and whether she will make a statement.

The Government have already announced decisions on milk and bread, and I am making an announcement about the financial arrangements for butter later this afternoon. I am considering the scope for further subsidies and will let the House have details of our proposals as soon as possible.

Has the right hon. Lady calculated the proportion of the £500 million subsidy which is going to those with above-average incomes and to those who eat in hotels and restaurants?

The proportion of the subsidy which goes to those with low incomes and to pensioner households is far more substantial than any proportion which goes to those earning more than £60 a week. To be precise, the elements which we are already subsidising rate far more heavily in the index for pensioners than they do for average earners and for all households.

In view of what she said in the debate on the Gracious Speech, may we be assured that my right hon. Friend will not confine her study of subsidies to the food sector but will consider perhaps vital subsidies in other sectors?

My hon. Friend will recognise that this is a matter for other Ministers as well as myself. I ask him to await further announcements on the matter.

In view of what she has just said, will the right hon. Lady bear in mind that there are many of us who have a deep-rooted opposition to the whole idea of subsidies on the scale proposed by the Government? What are the mechanics whereby the subsidy shall be paid, and how will one know whether it has been paid only on flour used for baking the 14oz. or heavier loaf?

On the second part of his supplementary question, I ask the hon. Gentleman to look at the machinery set out in the paper which has been laid in the Library, which gives details of how we shall ensure that the flour which is subsidised is used for bread manufacture only. In response to the first part of the question, I must point out that the previous administration, which the hon. Member supported, subsidised nationalised industries to the extent of many hundreds of millions of pounds, and it does not lie in the Opposition's mouth to accuse us of using subsidies wildly.

asked the Secretary of State for Prices and Consumer Protection what is the expected cost of the bread subsidy this year, and in 1975, on the assumption that the price of bread does not rise during the period.

The cost of offsetting the price rises which would otherwise have taken place on 25th March is estimated at £16 million for the remainder of this year and £21 million in a full year.

Is it not the case that the cost of keeping the price of bread level for a year or two would be enormously more? What is the point of giving a bread subsidy which amounts to about 40p per head per year in view of the rapid inflation that is taking place and the much better use that could be made of the funds?

I have a feeling that the hon. Member and I would disagree about the better use of the funds. We can think of few better uses of the funds than to concentrate on foodstuffs such as bread which loom extremely large in the diets of large families and pensioners.

Does the right hon. Lady agree that it makes no sense to give an indiscriminate subsidy to all sections of the community when her right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer has been trying to take away such crumbs of comfort from the very rich? Would it not make more sense to be more selective in the way that the subsidy is handed out?

The previous administration subsidised milk and a wide range of the products of nationalised industries without discriminating in any way. We are entitled to concentrate above all on the essential foodstuffs which loom largest among the poor. If anything, our subsidy is more concentrated on the low income group than was that of the previous administration.

Will my right hon. Friend consider appearing before the Expenditure Committee so that she can explain in great detail, and in greater detail than is possible in the House, why she is spending so much on certain food subsidies and why, as she has suggested. the previous Government gave indiscriminate subsidies? Does she agree that it would be valuable to get such matters on the record?

I should be more than pleased to accept my hon. Friend's invitation in view of the intelligence of the questions he asks.

As the right hon. Lady indicated earlier that it was not then a convenient moment for me to put my question, will she now tell the House, as she is being discriminating, what the net effect of her budget will be on every working family in the United Kingdom? Will she tell the House that as a direct result of that budget the retail price index will go up by over 3 per cent. and ordinary families will be worse off and not better off?

The figure has been given to the House by my right hon. Friend the Paymaster-General. In our estimate, the effect on the retail price index will be approximately 1½ per cent. I cannot accept the argument of the Leader of the Opposition that price rises which were otherwise inevitable and were then avoided as a result of the Government's action, with a consequent effect on the retail price index—such as rent increases and increased bread prices—should not be attributed to the action of the present Government.

asked the Secretary of State for Prices and Consumer Protection what steps she intends to take, in view of the price discrepancies on a range of branded household goods on sale in the shops and supermarkets, including price variations on such goods by up to 40p in £4, to end the practice of sales gimmicks and special offers.

Immediate steps to restrain prices and protect consumers have already been announced. I am not convinced that price variations on branded goods and sales promotion offers are necessarily against the consumer's interest, but I shall keep the position under review.

Will my hon. Friend look also at some of the practices obtaining in some of the larger supermarkets, where multiple pricing takes place, which leads to a great deal of confusion and, in my view, is designed so to do, and will he ensure that arrangements are made so that at such places as check points sufficient time is provided for shoppers to check the number and prices of items which are bought, since the problem of ensuring accuracy in this respect often creates difficulty for shoppers before they leave the premises?

I shall be glad to hear from my hon. Friend if either he or his constituents have information about abuses.

asked the Secretary of State for Prices and Consumer Protection what conclusions she has drawn from the Price Commission's examination of retailers' percentage margins.

I welcome the Price Commission's action on food retailers' margins. I have made my own proposals in the consultative document on the price code, published on 25th March.

Does the right hon. Lady agree that it will now be much more difficult for retailers operating efficiently to maintain their own price disciplines as a result of the huge and swingeing increases in costs of all sorts of essential materials which will arise from the Chancellor's Budget decisions last week?

I am not sure what huge and swingeing costs the hon. Gentleman is referring to. [HON. MEMBERS: "Crisps."] If he is referring to nationalised industry prices, I remind him that his right hon. Friend the Member for Carshalton (Mr. Carr) made quite clear that the previous Chancellor had in mind a reduction in the subsidy to nationalised industries as long ago as last December. If lie is referring to crisps, I can only say that, in a situation of national emergency, one would have expected him to think of something a little more serious.

Ought not the right hon. Lady to ensure that her Department is as efficient as the Price Commission? I put down 17 Questions about prices to her last week. The day after I put them down, her Department had eight transferred to other Ministers, and the day after that it wrote to me to say that they had been transferred back to the right hon. Lady's Department. Who is responsible for prices in this Government?

The answer is clear. Nationalised industry-sponsoring Ministers are responsible for the prices which they themselves are in a position to determine. I am responsible for prices which are not determined by an individual Department and which come under the control of the Price Commission. The hon. Gentleman, therefore, asked a number of his Questions of the wrong Ministry.

Does my right hon. Friend recall that, not many months ago, the Tory Government actually stopped the Price Commission publishing price increases?

I remember very well, and I hope that my hon. Friend will continue to keep his memory as good as that.

How does the Secretary of State square her answer to my hon. Friend the Member for Chingford (Mr. Tebbit) with the fact that the Prime Minister has clearly said that she is responsible and her Department is the focal point of measures to deal with prices generally? Is it not fair she should take responsibility for price increases and not try to shuffle it off to her right hon. Friends? Is not the proof of the pudding in the fact that all my hon. Friend's Questions have in fact been transferred back to her for answer?

The hon. Gentleman knows better than that. It is a principle of constitutional doctrine that responsibility for Questions rests with the Minister responsible for the decisions. Therefore, when decisions rest with another Department, as they do, for example, in respect of a nationalised industry such as steel, it would be most inappropriate for me to answer Questions on them. I am very happy to answer Questions, and will continue to answer, on matters within my field of responsibility.

On a point of order, Mr. Speaker. May I ask for your advice—

Order. I do not approve of points of order during Question Time. If the hon. Gentleman has a point of order, perhaps he will be good enough to raise it at the end of Questions.

asked the Secretary of State for Prices and Consumer Protection by how much food prices in the United Kingdom have risen since our joining the Common Market, compared with those Continental countries which were full members of EFTA and which did not join.

As the answer contains a number of figures, I shall, with permission, circulate the information in the OFFICIAL REPORT.

I asked for only one figure. However, having looked at the list of figures which he proposes to cir-

asked the Secretary of State for Prices and Consumer Protection how many food prices have increased since 28th February.

The food index is the official measure of movements in retail

In reply to the first part of the question, the hon. Member has asked for a number of figures, which is why they will be circulated in the OFFICIAL REPORT. They show that the percentage increase in the United Kingdom was exceeded only by Iceland. The hon. Member draws the wrong conclusion, however, if he argues that the increases are due to membership of the EEC. This country was more seriously affected by the rise in world commodity prices in the last 18 months than were some other countries which already paid more for their food.

Does the Minister realise that in proportion Norway and Switzerland import just as much food as we do?

The prices in those countries were higher than in Britain before we entered the Common Market.

If my hon. Friend would read The Grocer, which his predecessors never would when we asked the same questions of them, we could be given the figure. Is he aware that in the first quarter of this year more than 6,500 separate food price rises have occurred, all of which were in the pipeline during the period of the previous administration': Is he aware that not only retailers and wholesalers have a responsibility to make their contribution to the reduction of food prices? So, too, have manufacturers, as my hon. Friend the Member for Watford (Mr. Tuck) has indicated. Will my hon. Friend ensure that they play their part and ensure also that retailers display the maximum prices for foods so that housewives will know exactly where they stand? Does he not think that an across-the-board moratorium on all increases for the next quarter would help the housewife considerably?

I study The Grocer with interest. However, the number of increases notified to it tends to distort the true position since each quality or weight of the same product is counted as a separate increase. As for the other points my hon. Friend has raised, I ask her to await publication of my right hon. Friend's Bill.

How many food prices will increase as a result of the imposition of VAT on food?

That is a separate question.

asked the Secretary of State for Prices and Consumer Protection what has been the percentage increase in food prices since June 1970 to the latest available date.

Between 16th June 1970 and 19th February 1974, the latest date for which information is available, the food index rose by 54·4 per cent.

In view of those extortionate figures, which are the responsibility of the last administration, will my hon. Friend tell my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State that when she meets the former Tory Chief Whip, Lord Redmayne, and his colleagues tomorrow she should not take too much notice of their sad stories about the profit margins that wholesalers and retailers are having to suffer? Will my hon. Friend say whether food subsidies are more progressive than subsidies for private education and private hospital beds?

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State will have heard my hon. Friend's remarks about the meeting with Lord Redmayne. The second point my hon. Friend makes is a fair one and I accept it.

Will the hon. Gentleman comment on the fact that dried milk for babies has gone up in price recently by 25 per cent. and will he indicate what action is intended either to reduce the price or to keep it in check?

The hon. Member has asked a totally separate question which I must ask him to table.

Will the Minister say by how much comparable world food prices rose during the same period?

The hon. Member has asked a separate question. The original Question related to the percentage increase in food prices from July 1970 to the present day. If he wants detailed information beyond that, he must table a separate Question. On the general point, my right hon. Friend has never for one moment sought to conceal, and repeatedly made clear during the recent election which the hon. Member appears still to be fighting, the extent of the increase in world prices. The previous Government could have done substantially more to lessen the impact of those higher prices to consumers.

asked the Secretary of State for Prices and Consumer Protection if she will investigate retail prices for milk charged in motorway service areas.

I have seen my hon. Friend's correspondence. If he has any further information he wishes to bring to my attention, I will gladly consider it.

I am most grateful for the action the Department took about a particular motorway caterer who was charging well over twice the recommended retail price for a pint of milk, as will be my constituents who raised the matter. Will my hon. Friend keep under continuous review the pricing policy of motorway caterers since they are operating in monopoly conditions of public franchise?

My Department will certainly keep a review of prices where that is possible. However, it is a physical impossibility for the Department to see every individual price movement throughout the country and, therefore, we are most grateful to hon. Members who, like my hon. Friend, bring these extortionate prices to our attention.

Is my hon. Friend aware that both the prices and the services provided in motorway service areas vary enormously throughout the country? Should there not be a full-scale investigation of what is often a most unsatisfactory service?

As one who uses these service areas when travelling with my family, I share my hon. Friend's concern. If he has evidence to put before me, I shall be glad to see it.

asked the Secretary of State for Prices and Consumer Protection if she will take steps to prohibit the practice of supermarkets whereby marked prices of goods already in stock are increased whilst they remain in stock; and if she will make a statement.

asked the Secretary of State for Prices and Consumer Protection what steps she proposes to take to prohibit the practice of marking-up the prices of retail goods already in stock.

I intend to introduce an amendment to the price code. This will restrict the extent to which goods displayed for retail sale can be repriced because the cost of replacement stocks has increased.

May I express my gratitude to the Secretary of State for attempting to deal with this infuriating problem? Will she look at the whole question of supermarkets? Is she aware that the increase in the number of supermarkets has gone hand in hand with the increase in shoplifting? A lot of supermarkets means a lot of large lorries trying to get into small places in small towns. In towns like Christchurch supermarkets are beginning entirely to change the shape of the area. Will the right hon. Lady consider an interdepartmental inquiry to examine the whole question of the effect of supermarkets on towns?

The hon. Member has raised a very wide question. I know that he has been interested in the question of shoplifting for a long time. I am prepared certainly to discuss with the trade ways in which goods may be laid out so as to discourage shoplifting. Shoplifting is often a tragedy for a family and shops sometimes lend themselves to the commission of the crime.

Will my right hon. Friend ensure that supermarkets abandon the nasty habit of putting little stick-on labels on goods and instead mark the price on the package in indelible ink?

This will be part of our proposal for legislation. It is against exactly such practices that we intend to introduce legislation.

I welcome the right hon. Lady's proposed action in the matter. Is she aware, however, that some retailers are unhappy about the amount of time she has allowed for consultation on her document? In fairness to all concerned, would she be prepared to extend the deadline a little after 9th April?

I understand that the hon. Gentleman called for urgent action on the matter. He will appreciate, therefore, that there must be a term to consultation, but we can discuss the mechanics, as distinct from the principles, for a longer period.

Are the remarks attributed to the right hon. Lady's Department accurately reported? It is said that the plan to stop the overstamping of grocery price labels will make no difference to prices, as the new rule would merely force grocers to pull off the first label before sticking on a new one. That statement is attributed to her Department. Is that correct?

It is not strictly correct. We are talking about goods on display, because in some cases, of which I think the wine trade is the best example, goods are kept in stock for a long period and increase in value while in stock. That is the sort of thing we have to discuss, and intend to discuss, with the trade.

asked the Secretary of State for Prices and Consumer Protection when retail grocery stores may expect to receive their fair prices list; and what steps she will take to ensure that they are displayed and adhered to.

Legislation is required to enable us to fulfil our pledge to introduce maximum fair prices for certain key foods. My right hon. Friend will put this before the House in the very near future.

Will my hon. Friend also bear in mind when preparing the legislation that there should be a clear definition of the rôle of the local authority as well as of his Department, and what advice he might give to hon. Members who are already receiving complaints in this respect?

I shall bear that point in mind. The consultations include consultations with the local authorities.

Will the Minister bear in mind that maximum fair prices can often be taken as the prices which a store will charge, and that many stores are cutting back below the prices now recommended by manufacturers?

I am aware of that. We are having consultations with the trade and industry on all aspects of this policy.

asked the Secretary of State for Prices and Consumer Protection by what percentage imported food prices have risen in the past 12 months; and if she will estimate what proportion of this was due to Great Britain's membership of the EEC.

Over the most recent period of 12 months for which figures are available—December 1972 to December 1973—prices of imported food and feeding stuffs rose on average by 42 per cent. It is not possible to estimate precisely the proportion of this due to membership of the EEC, but the overall effect of membership on United Kingdom food prices is currently estimated at between ½ and 1 per cent.

Is the right hon. Lady aware that that answer will be deeply unsatisfactory to her right hon. and hon. Friends? Would she care to estimate, within the facts available to her Department, whether the rise in the cost of imported foodstuffs is likely to be greater in the next 12 months than in the past 12 months?

With regard to the first part of his question the hon. Gentleman has got it wrong, because the statistics I have given can in no way give an indication of what would happen if world prices were to fall. The hon. Gentleman knows my views on the Common Market, but I am bound to say that if there were any fall in world prices it would not be reflected in the Common Market, because of the curious ratchet mechanism involved in the common agricultural policy. With regard to the second part of the hon. Gentleman's question, I do not pretend to be able to predict the course of world prices over the next year. I do not intend to share the over-optimism of the previous Government in expecting them each week to fall the week after.

Has the right hon. Lady checked the figures and checked how they were arrived at for part of her answer? It seems singularly similar to the one given by her predecessor. Is she aware that the previous Government refused to disclose to Parliament how they arrived at that figure? Can she do better than that and tell us how the figure is arrived at?

It is arrived at by taking the difference between port and farm-gate prices in the United Kingdom and then comparing it with world prices, after taking account of the effect of EEC membership. What no one can calculate, however objective he tries to be, is the effect of the diversion to other markets of the foodstuffs of certain of our traditional suppliers. I cannot settle that argument, which is likely to continue between hon. Members on both sides of the House.

asked the Secretary of State for Prices and Consumer Protection if she will make regulations as to the content of a carafe of wine, in view of present disparities.

It is our intention to lay an order before the House in the very near future which will provide that wine when sold in carafes for consumption on the premises should be sold only by capacity measurement.

In the interests of consumer protection for the downtrodden rich, who since last Tuesday include all hon. Members on both sides of the House, may I extend to the hon. Gentleman my gratitude, because in the recent past a small carafe has ranged from one and a half to two and a half glasses?

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for his complimentary remarks. It is noticeable how much more of a welcome there is from the Opposition for action to protect the wine drinker than to protect the person who eats bread.

asked the Secretary of State for Prices and Consumer Protection if she will introduce legislation to make it compulsory for the drained weight of foods canned in liquid to be marked on the cans.

We are taking a close look at the need for such legislation.

I am grateful to my hon. Friend. Is he aware that compulsory drained weight marking already exists, apparently with success, in a number of other countries, and that there is widespread consumer demand for it in this country too?

I am aware of that. I know the campaign which my hon. Friend has vigorously fought. There are complications over whether one uses minimum weights or average weights. That is a matter which I am considering. In view of my hon. Friend's longstanding campaign, if he would care to discuss the matter with me at the Department I should be glad to go into the details with him.

asked the Secretary of State for Prices and Consumer Protection if she will introduce legisla- tion to curb the mailing of unsolicited material.

The Younger Committee on Privacy reported in 1972 that legislation was not, in its view, necessary. However, I am willing to consider whether steps should be taken to curb posting of unsolicited material if there is substantial evidence of annoyance or distress.

I remind the Minister that there is a continued bombardment of such material, certainly in my constituency, and, I believe, elsewhere. It is confusing to older people, who receive many official-looking documents which are no more than lottery or credit card reminders. May I suggest that the Department takes urgent notice of the matter? I can provide the hon. Gentleman with a great deal of material.

If the hon. Gentleman would provide material, that would be welcomed. In the past year we had only about 40 representations from the public on the matter. Less than half complained about the principle of being sent the material, but they complained about such things as lottery tickets. If the hon. Gentleman has a great deal of material, it will be welcome to me.

asked the Secretary of State for Prices and Consumer Protection if she proposes to seek to amend Section 2 of the Fair Trading Act.

I shall be prepared to consider possible changes in the Act in the light of experience of its working.

I welcome the fact that the hon. Gentleman is consulting colleagues in the Home Office about transferring responsibility for consumer product safety. As evidence must be collected for that, however, will he either amend Section 2 of the Act to allow the Director General to do it or set up a consumer commission on product safety?

I am discussing with the Director General the whole field of operation of the Act. From our amicable experience on the Act during its passage through Parliament—if I may say that without embarrassing her—the hon. Lady well knows my views on consumer health and safety. It is our intention, as I believe it was the previous Government's, to see the Act work as effectively as possible.

Can my hon. Friend give an indication of the abuses the Government intend to attack by using the powers in the Act, and when they will do so?

My hon. and learned Friend must allow for the fact that I have been in office only a very short time and that I am in the middle of preparing legislation. I am having discussions with the Director General to see where action by the Government is needed. The Director General is already urgently considering measures that he would wish to put before the public and the Consumer Protection Advisory Committee.

asked the Secretary of State for Prices and Consumer Protection if she will make a statement on the implications of metrication for the consumer.

I have the programme of metric change, and of course its likely effects on the consumer, very much in mind. I have stressed to the Metrication Board the need to ensure that consumers are prepared for the continuing extension of metric weights and measures.

Is it the Government's policy to extend metrication and especially to apply it to foodstuffs in the shops? If so, will the Minister bear in mind that most consumers regarded decimalisation as a total disaster for shoppers?

I shall bear in mind what the hon. Gentleman says. I must remind him that he was twice a member of a Government which had an active metrication policy. As the point of no return was passed during that Government's term of office, it is our job to see that the matter is carried through in an orderly manner.

asked the Secretary of State for Prices and Consumer Protection if she will make a statement on her discussions with representatives of workers at the Scottish Daily Express, in relation to the operation of the Fair Trading Act.

I have nothing to add to the statement which was made by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade on 27th March.—[Vol. 871, c. 467–75.]

Has there been any approach to my right hon. Friend's Department about the Glasgow Evening Citizen?

There was an approach about the Glasgow Evening Citizen from Beaverbrook Newspapers Limited and from the trade unions. My hon. Friend will recognise that the powers which I have under the Act are extremely narrow. They require me to give permission, without any form of report from the Monopolies Commission, if I am satisfied that a newspaper is not financially viable and that it cannot be run as a separate enterprise. I made careful inquiries and I was obliged to say that I was satisfied on both points.

asked the Secretary of State for Prices and Consumer Protection when she expects to publish the findings of the Monopolies Commission cn cross-Channel ferry fares.

I hope to publish the report shortly.

Will the report be made public as soon as it is made available to the Minister?

It will be made public at the earliest possible date.

asked the Secretary of State for Prices and Consumer Protection how many price increases were recorded between 18th June 1970 and 28th February 1974.

I regret I am unable to supply a figure as statutory price controls were not introduced until November 1972, and not all price increases since then are recorded centrally.

Can my hon. Friend give an approximate figure? The figures which were released earlier indicated that approximately 30,000 price increases had been brought about in the early years of the previous Government. Bearing in mind that staggering figure, will my hon. Friend ensure that the Government continue as they have started by maintaining food subsidies and using other means to ensure that housewives get a better deal?

I should like to be able to help my hon. Friend. As I have explained, the fact that we have not recorded the price scales means that any figure which we gave would necessarily be an approximation and not very helpful. My right hon. Friend has my hon. Friend's latter point much in mind and will act on his suggestion.

Will the hon. Gentleman tell the House how much the price of petrol has gone up today as a direct consequence of the Government's action?

As my right hon. Friend has explained, that question should be addressed to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Energy.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade if he will give urgent consideration to the establishment of a Government inquiry into the travel industry, with particular reference to its economic and operational structure, bonding and consumer protection.

I share my hon. Friend's concern that there should be adequate protection of travellers and others in the tourist industry. Action is already in hand by the Association of British Travel Agents to provide new codes of conduct for tour operators and retail agents. In these circumstances I should prefer to await the outcome before considering the case for a major inquiry.

I remind my hon. Friend that the travel industry is highly vulnerable and that the closures and anxieties of 1973 left considerable scars. I hope that he will consider compiling the findings of all these reports and ultimately agree to an inquiry.

I assure my hon. Friend that we shall keep a close watch on developments, especially following the action which is currently being taken.

Is my hon. Friend aware that that is the type of answer we have had from the Front Bench by successive Governments and that his answer does not go nearly far enough? Does he realise that the time has now arrived for the Government to look for a solution of the problem with a view to introducing legislation?

There is a new factor. We now have the Fair Trading Act and the Director General of Fair Trading. He is in consultation with the trade about measures which may be needed to tighten up the precautions to protect the travelling public against the sort of things which have been going on for the past year or two. We should give these new arrangements a chance to work before considering further action.

When considering the action of the travel industry to try to encourage more people to have holidays at home, and particularly in the South-West, will the hon. Gentleman bear in mind that one of the problems facing smaller hoteliers when trying to keep down their prices is the cost which they are having to bear over a short period in meeting the requirements of the fire regulations? Will he consider the possibility of extending the period over another two years?

I am prepared to look at that issue, although it does not arise directly out of the Question on the Order Paper.

asked the Secretary of State for Trade if he will give the number of tons of waste paper that has been exported for the years 1969. 1970, 1971, 1972 and 1973, and if he will take immediate action to reduce the exporting of waste paper in view of the needs of the United Kingdom paper industry.

The figures, which are published in the Overseas Trade Statistics, are 94,000, 100,000, 77,000, 74,000 and 102,000 metric tonnes respectively, including a small amount of mechanical wood pulp in 1969. The second part of the Question is a matter for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Industry.

I thank my hon. Friend for that reply. Can he tell the House why the Government allow the export of waste paper, which is so very important to the country? Cannot we have a restriction of such exports, similar to the restriction imposed on the nationalised industries, which have been prevented from exporting at times when they could have made a profit out of doing so? Are we to continue to allow exporters to sell materials abroad which are short in this country simply because they will get higher prices by doing so?

I am aware of the concern on this matter but the primary responsibility is for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Industry. If export controls were decided upon, I would be responsible for their administration through my Department's export licensing branch.

Will the hon. Gentleman take steps to increase the collection of waste paper, which would save a great deal of money? A great deal of paper is at present wasted.

This matter is coming very much to the fore and I assure the hon. Gentleman that I have as great an interest as anyone in the House in saving imports, which is one of the factors in improving the collection arrangements for waste paper. However, there is a limit to what can be done, partly because of the cost burden on the local rates and partly because waste paper often has to undergo expensive processing before it can be properly recycled.

Does not my hon. Friend think it nonsense from the point of view of the national economy that we should be exporting waste paper, not collecting our own and at the same time importing precious timber, for which his Department is certainly responsible, in order to make more waste paper available?

I confess that I do not always understand the economics of either the paper industry or, indeed, any other industry, but I assure my hon. Friend that we share her concern, as I am sure the whole House does, that we should do what we can to improve the balance of payments position by saving imports where possible as well as by expanding exports. That is the task of my. Department and the Government as a whole.

asked the Secretary of of State for Trade if he will specify the range of assumptions British Airways made about key factors in the profitability of Concorde in service.

I am discussing with the British Airways Board what further information could be made available to the House about its estimates of the effect on its financial results of introducing Concorde services.

I thank the hon. Gentleman for that reply. Will he bear in mind that the Secretary of State for Industry has been encouraging people to criticise the figures he gave in his statement and that it is very difficult for us to do that unless we are given the information we need? Why, therefore, did not the Secretary of State for Trade answer the Question I put to him for Written Answer, which was designed to draw out these assumptions?

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade tabled a very long answer on the hon. Gentleman's problems. If he has any grumbles about matters relating to the Department of Industry, he is entitled to table further Questions to that Department.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy what consultations have been held with the electricity industry with regard to pending price increases to the consumer.

My right hon. Friend discussed with the Chairman of the Electricity Council the electricity price increases announced by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer in his Budget Statement.

By how much are electricity prices going up now, and by how much further will they have to rise later in the year to allow for the increased price of coal? Is the hon. Gentleman satisfied that more economies and greater efficiency could not be introduced by the industry to avoid part of these increased charges?

My right hon. Friend is satisfied that the industry is efficient and economical. As far as the effect on consumers' bills is concerned, the small domestic consumer may expect to pay only about 10 per cent. more—for example, 3p per week; the average domestic consumer may expect to pay 30 per cent. more, which is just over 25p per week; and the large domestic consumer with a high proportion of off-peak and night use may expect to pay nearly 50 per cent. more in some cases—for example, 75p per week.

What about the skeleton in this particular cupboard? For how many months were the price increases that the right hon. Member for Worcester (Mr. Walker) and other Conservative Ministers knew ought to take place delayed for political reasons?

My hon. Friend is on the ball. [HON. MEMBERS: "Oh!"] Right hon. and hon. Members on the Opposition Front Bench may jeer, but they should honestly admit to the House and the country that decisions which should have been taken were not taken by them and had to be taken by the present Government.

Can the hon. Gentleman say a little more about his statement that the small domestic consumer will have his bill increased by only 10 per cent.? What does the hon. Gentleman mean by "small domestic consumer"? How certain is he that 10 per cent. represents the maximum increase that the small domestic consumer can expect during the next 12 monhs?

It is quite clear what a small domestic consumer is. He is someone who does not consume as much electricity as other people.

Does my hon. Friend agree that the truth lies in the fact that the Leader of the Opposition and his colleagues when in government were responsible for these price increases through the three-day working week, the confrontation with the miners and other actions? Does he also agree that the Leader of the Opposition behaved like an IRA terrorist in planting an economic time bomb and then running away?

My hon. Friend is right, and confession would be good for the soul in this case. Of course, we may hear some confession from the Opposition Front Bench later today.

How can the Prime Minister claim that he did not know what was in the pipeline concerning electricity when my colleagues and I in the last Government spelled out in the starkest possible terms in the proceedings on the Statutory Corporations (Financial Provisions) Act 1974 exactly what was required? It is ludicrous for the Prime Minister to try to pretend that all this came as a stupendous shock to him.

The right hon. Gentleman will recall that we took part in the proceedings on that Act as well. His comment is probably the comment of the week. The nation has indeed been confronted in the starkest possible terms with the bill it is having to pay now because of the bungling incompetence of the last Government.

asked the Secretary of State for Energy when he expects to announce his decision on the continuing programme for the nuclear power stations.

We expect to announce decisions on the nuclear power programme as soon as all the relevant factors have been fully considered.

In the light of critical concern and doubt about the American light water reactor, will the hon. Gentleman publish a Green Paper before making the final decision?

I will bear that suggestion in mind.

Has my hon. Friend any advance information about when the promised debate on the report of the Select Committee on Science and Technology on nuclear reactor choices will be held?

I understand that my right hon. Friend the Leader of the House has promised that there will be a debate, and it is a matter for him.

Is it not the case that if we bought nuclear reactors from abroad we would be selling our British technology down the river, as the last Government appeared to be ready to do?

Six choices are being considered at present, and I have to tell my hon. Friend that the light water reactor is only one of the possible choices being examined by the Nuclear Power Advisory Board. No decision has been taken to install light water reactors in this country.