§ 19. Mr. J. H. Osbornasked the President of the Board of Trade whether he is satisfied with the operation of the Trading Stamp Act; and whether he will make a statement.
§ Mr. DarlingI have no evidence to suggest that the present law on this subject is unsatisfactory.
§ Mr. OsbornI am grateful for that reply by the right hon. Gentleman, who greatly helped in bringing the Act to the Statute Book. Have the provisions of Section 1 been complied with? Second, are the provisions dealing with advertisements, display in shops and catalogues being complied with, and who is responsible under Government auspices for seeing that the Act generally is complied with?
§ Mr. DarlingThe Act lays no duty of inspection or enforcement on the Board of Trade. Complaints, if they are likely to lead to prosecution, should be made to the police, except as regards the matters covered by Section 1(2) of the Act relating to the accounts of private companies and the like. The hon. Gentleman will have noted that we have had to amend the Companies Act in order to take account of that side of the Trading Stamp Act.