Resale Price Maintenance

HC Deb 18 May 1961 vol 640 c1546

34. Mr. Holt

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he will introduce legislation to repeal Section 25 of the Restrictive Trade Practices Act, 1956.

Mr. N. Macpherson

My right hon. Friend will consider this point in the light of his inquiries into resale price maintenance generally.

Mr. Holt

Is the hon. Gentleman aware of a case a few weeks ago in the High Court when the Addis Brush Company, of Hertford, obtained an injunction against a retailer for selling its brushes below the fixed retail price and that the defence of the retailer was that had he not done so, it would have shown him a profit of 87 per cent.? Is that the intention that the Government had in mind when they brought in Section 25, and what do they propose to do about it?

Mr. Macpherson

This is one of the aspects which my right hon. Friend will be considering together with all other considerations arising from his inquiries.