§ 21. Mr. MullinTo ask the President of the Board of Trade what representations he has received from independent newsagents about carriage charges; and if he will make a statement. [26826]
§ Mr. Jonathan EvansI have received a substantial number of letters, as I informed the House earlier, following a campaign by the National Federation of Retail Newsagents concerning increasing wholesalers' carriage charges.
§ Mr. MullinGiven the Government's professed concern for the welfare of small business men, why will they not stick up for the newsagents against the arrogance of those near-monopoly distribution companies? If the Conservative party is the party of competition, should it not be fighting for the newsagents, not for the near-monopoly distribution companies, which are extremely arrogant and abuse their power daily?
§ Mr. EvansThe hon. Gentleman should know that the role performed by the small retail newsagent is recognised and well understood by Conservative Members. We also recognise the anxieties that have been expressed by many people in the industry about increasing wholesale charges.
As I said earlier, it is important that all sections of the industry—publishers, wholesalers and newsagents—get together to resolve that difficulty. It is certainly not in the interests of the publishers for the position of the small retail newsagent to be damaged, because half the fixed sales of newspapers are undertaken through the delivery mechanisms of small retail newsagents, and advertising revenue is fixed on that basis.
In those circumstances, it is important that that dialogue takes place. I can tell the hon. Gentleman that Mr. Frost of the National Federation of Retail Newsagents has informed me that part of that dialogue is already taking place.