§ 8. Mr. Pargiterasked the Minister of Power whether he will take the necessary steps to oblige petrol distributors to display clearly the octane rating of the various brands of petroleum as well as the respective retail price.
§ Mr. PeytonNo, Sir, I am not convinced that legislation for this purpose would be justified.
§ Mr. PargiterSurely octane rating is the valid test of every petrol. Is not the hon. Gentleman aware that petrol can be sold with any sort of claim but that unless there is some standard by which the public can judge, in this as in many other things covered by the Merchandise Marks Act, it will not have the sort of protection it should have? Should not this be considered?
§ Mr. PeytonIf general legislation were required, that would be for my right hon. Friend the secretary of State for Industry and Trade. I do not accept that only octane rating is a valid test of the standard petrol. There are such matters as volatility and absence of deleterious material.
§ Mr. PargiterIt is octane rating that is used in the testing of engines by the manufacturers and if it were established generally as a test, would not the public be in a better position to know what it was buying?
§ Mr. PeytonI am aware of what the hon. Gentleman said in the first part of his supplementary question but I still maintain that this would not be a very useful guide to motorists.