Price Commission (Hansard, 30 January 1978)

§ 2. Mr. Giles Shaw
asked the Secretary of State for Prices and Consumer Protection when he will next be meeting the Chairman of the Price Commission.

§ 10. Mr. Canavan
asked the Secretary of State for Prices and Consumer Protection when he next expects to meet the Chairman of the Price Commission.

§ 24. Mr. Clemitson
asked the Secretary of State for Prices and Consumer Protection when he next proposes to meet the Chairman of the Price Commission.

§ The Secretary of State for Prices and Consumer Protection (Mr. Roy Hattersley)
The Chairman of the Price Commission and I meet frequently. No firm date has been set for our next meeting.

§ Mr. Shaw
When the Secretary of State next meets the chairman, will he raise the matter of the propriety of the range 3 and depth of questions being asked? What will happen to the Commission's data bank of information? Will the right hon. Gentleman remind the chairman that, as he said in his report he cannot operate without the good will of British industry and it seems that that good will is being eroded rapidly?

§ Mr. Hattersley
That is only the result of unsubstantiated stories in the newspapers. No good purpose would be served by my directing the Chairman of the Price Commission—I do not know whether it would even be within my power—about whether questions were proper or not.
The information requirement was discussed in great detail with the CBI when it was first prepared, and now a working party of the CBI and the Commission is considering further provision. Anything they agree to, I shall support. That is the right way to go about matters.

§ Mr. Canavan
Is the Secretary of State aware that many workers whose wages are frozen are absolutely flabbergasted by some of the price increases that the Commission allows? For example, why should the Distillers Company be allowed to slap another 50p on the price of a bottle of whisky when last year that company made a profit of £91 million and the managing director earned £50,000, yet the average wage of its workers is less than £52 a week?

§ Mr. Hattersley
The application of the Distillers Company was examined and treated by the Price Commission according to the rules established by the House. The Commission will continue to adhere to those rules. My hon. Friend must recall that not all whisky prices went up by the amount that he has quoted because of the intervention of the Price Commission.

§ Mr. Fell
Does the Secretary of State recall a letter than I wrote to him recently about the Eastern Electricity Board? It has applied to the Price Commission for a further rise in electricity prices. Why is he so coy about having words with the Price Commission over this matter?

§ Mr. Hattersley
The Act of Parliament governing the Price Commission, which the hon. Member voted against, binds me as it binds him to seeing that the Com- 4 mission operates with a degree of independence. This was the will of the House and I subscribe to it.

§ Miss Boothroyd
When my right hon. Friend next meets the Chairman of the Price Commission, will he make the point that the Whisky Distillers' argument that it needs price rises to protect export earnings is unacceptable in view of the fact that lower export prices tend to increase consumption and increase earnings? Will he further say that the action of the Price Commission in not investigating the Distillers Company disturbs those of us who gave authority for such investigations to be carried out?

§ Mr. Hattersley
I have no doubt that the Price Commission and the wider public will take note of what my hon. Friend has said. However, it would be improper and undesirable if I constantly suggested to the Price Commission what it should or should not investigate. The Act provides that specific decisions of this sort should be taken by the Price Commission itself, and that must remain the case.

§ 14. Mr. Neubert
asked the Secretary of State for Prices and Consumer Protection when he next expects the Price Commission to make a general report on its activities to him.

§ Mr. Hattersley
The Price Commission is due to report to me during February on the performance of its functions during the three months ending 31st January 1978.

§ Mr. Neubert
Does the Secretary of State recall the undertaking given in Standing Committee that the Price Commission's powers would not be used to secure planning agreements in industry? Has that held true to date, and will it in future?

§ Mr. Hattersley
The law does not allow the Price Commission to use its powers in that way. I thought that I had convinced the hon. Gentleman of that during the Committee stage of the Bill.

§ Mr. Canavan
Will my right hon. Friend ask the Commission to report on the inflationary effect on food prices of last week's parliamentary auction sale when the SNP tried to outbid the Tories and the Liberals by proposing a green pound devaluation of 20 per cent. per 5 annum in a cheap bid to buy the farmers' votes?

§ Mr. Hattersley
One of the Price Commission's objectives is to explain the reasons for price increases, but in this case I think that the country understands that perfectly well.

§ Mr. Montgomery
What is the cost to the taxpayer of each of the reports of the Price Commission, and what is the cost to the firms which have had to undergo investigation?

§ Mr. Hattersley
Questions about individual costs are for the Price Commission, but I can assure the hon. Gentleman that in these cases the costs are rather like his supplementary question—trivial.

§ Mr. Prescott
In view of some criticism of the Price Commission's techniques and its reports, is my right hon. Friend convinced that it has sufficient resources and personnel to carry out these important inquiries?

§ Mr. Hattersley
Yes, I am. I told the House a month ago that the Price Commission wanted to employ consultants to ensure that the correct quantity and quality of manpower was available. It is doing that, and I have no reason to believe that it is operating other than efficiently. Certainly the chairman of the Commission would tell me if he feared a lack of efficiency, but he has not done so.