§ 17. Mr. Pavittasked the Secretary of State for Trade if he will institute a sample quality control on vehicle bulbs for which import licences have been requested and refuse such licences when the quality is inferior to that of British-produced bulbs.
§ Mr. MeacherAs vehicle bulbs may be freely imported into the United Kingdom without the need for importers to obtain individual import licences, I receive no requests for licences for these products.
§ Mr. PavittWill my hon. Friend look at the serious situation which has arisen 21 in British industry, particularly in my constituency, as a result of the flood of bulbs from Korea and Taiwan which could lead to unemployment? Even more important, will my hon. Friend consider the extent to which the inferior quality of the light from these bulbs makes road accidents more likely?
§ Mr. MeacherWe have received no requests from the Lighting Industry Federation for restrictions on these imports. It has tried to assemble a European antidumping investigation about domestic light bulbs but not about vehicle light bulbs. The safety aspect to which my hon. Friend referred is a matter for the Department of Transport, which is considering a request for the provisions of EEC regulation No. 37, which provides for acceptable standards of vehicle bulbs in the United Kingdom, to be made mandatory.