HL Deb 11 November 1976 vol 377 cc801-3

[Nos.29–30.]

Clause 12, page 13, leave out lines 3 to 22 and insert—

  1. '(a) no person shall, in the course of a business, deal in or offer for sale new cars of that class or description unless the relevant official tests have been carried out;
  2. (b) every person who issues material to the general public with a view to promoting sales of cars of that class or description (especially advertisements, technical specifications, sales brochures and the like) shall, if the material contains any statement about fuel consumption, include specified information as to the results of the relevant official tests;
  3. (c) every manufacturer or, in the case of imported cars, importer of cars of that class or description shall secure that any manual or handbook compiled with a view to a copy of it being issued to any first purchaser of such a car includes specified information as to the results of the relevant official tests;
  4. (d) every person who, in the course of a business, deals in or offers for sale new cars of that class or description shall make available for inspection by his customers at any place where he causes such cars to be offered for sale, or regularly transacts business with customers relating to the sale of such cars, specified information as to the results of officially approved tests on all cars which have been subjected to the tests, including not only cars which he deals in or offers for sale, but also those which he does not; and
  5. (e) no person shall, with a view to promoting the sale of new cars of that class or description, display such a car on premises where he carries on a business unless the car has affixed to it, so as to be clearly visible to those to whom the car is displayed a label in specified form containing specified information including—
    1. (i) the results of the relevant official tests; and
    2. (ii) the fact that the results of officially approved tests on other cars are available for inspection by customers.'

Clause 12, page 13, line 46, leave out from 'section' to end of line 47 and insert—

  1. '(a) "relevant official tests", in relation to any car, means the officially approved tests carried out, or, as the case may be, required to be carried out (pursuant to orders under this section) on cars of that class or description; and
  2. (b) "specified" means specified by such orders;
and the orders may specify the cases in which a car is to be regarded as a new car and those in which a person is, or is not, regarded as one who deals in new cars.'

10.8 p.m.

Lord KIRKHILL

My Lords, with the leave of the House I beg to move that this House doth agree with the Commons in their Amendments Nos. 29 and 30 en bloc. The primary purpose of these Amendments to Clause 12(3) and 12(7) is to give effect to the decisions taken about the display of information in car showrooms following the further discussions with the trade promised to the House during discussion on an Amendment at Report stage. When the Bill was considered at Report stage in your Lordships' House objections were raised to the requirement in this clause that car dealers should post up details of the fuel consumption of all cars which had been tested, including those sold by their competitors. The Government undertook to discuss the matter further with the trade, and paragraphs (d) and (e) of Amendment No. 29 which amends subsection (3) of the clause, reflect the outcome. The requirement for a poster has been dropped, and we propose instead that each new car displayed should carry a label showing the official test results for that model. The label would also state that the full list of fuel consumption figures for all models which had been tested was available for inspection on the dealer's premises.

Amendment No. 29 also covers a number of other points. Paragraph (a) puts a clear responsibility on the manufacturer or importer of a car to make sure that tests are carried out by the date specified in the order. A minor Amendment has been made to paragraph (c) to put the obligation on the manufacturer or importer of a car to ensure that handbooks and owner's manuals contain the official tests results. It is now made clear throughout the text that the scheme applies only to new cars and to new car dealers. The man who deals exclusively in used cars will have no new duties imposed on him. Minor drafting Amendments have also been made to make it clearer, one hopes, that the test results to be published relate to models of car rather than to individual specimens. I beg to move.

Moved, that this House doth agree with the Commons in the said Amendments.—(Lord Kirkhill.)

Lord LUCAS of CHILWORTH

My Lords, the noble Lord, Lord Kirkhill, prompts me to say just one further word with regard to what he has just said. I do not think I could do better than copy the words of my noble friend Lord Sandys, when he said that it would be churlish of him, as it is of me, not to be grateful for these alterations which have been incorporated in the Amendments, which are as a direct result of the exchanges that the noble Lord and I had in those earlier stages. The industry is, of course, immensely grateful to the Government for that.