§ 1. Miss Burtonasked the President of the Board of Trade whether he is aware that full details of the new Australian textile labelling regulations have now been received which apply to imported textiles as well as to those made in Australia; and if he will consider making regulations so that similar information may be made available to shoppers in this country.
§ The President of the Board of Trade (Mr. Peter Thorneycroft)I am aware that the Australian State Governments now require textiles offered for sale within their boundaries to be labelled in the manner already prescribed by the Federal Government for imported textiles. The answer to the second part of the Question is "No, Sir."
§ Miss BurtonThe right hon. Gentleman has been aware of that information for a long time. May I ask him why he sets his face resolutely against letting the housewives of this country know what is in the materials that they buy, and why he is not prepared to bring into the wool glossary the same amount of detail as is required by the Australian regulations?
§ Mr. ThorneycroftAs the hon. Lady knows, I prefer to rely on the work of the British Standards Institute, and I have no power, and do not intend to seek power, to impose compulsory and detailed labelling over the whole field.