Consumer Affairs Council (Hansard, 29 March 1984)

§ Baroness Burton of Coventry
My Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question standing in my name on the Order Paper.

§ The Minister of State, Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (Lord Belstead)
My Lords, my honourable friend Mr. Alexander Fletcher attended the Consumer Affairs Council on 2nd March. The council decision on the early-warning system for dangerous consumer products, which had been agreed in principle at the previous Consumer Affairs Council, was formally adopted. My honourable friend explained that the misleading advertising directive in its present form would require a disproportionate upheaval in our present law and practice. It is now to be reviewed in the light of our concern, with a view to giving member states as much flexibility as possible in the choice of methods used to control misleading advertising.
Discussions on the product liability directive centred on the question of the extent to which there should be a financial limit to a producer's liability. No agreement was reached, and the matter is to be explored further by the Committee of Permanent Representatives and experts. A broad consensus on the text of the doorstep-selling directive was achieved, although one member state has retained its general reserve. It is expected that there will be a further council on consumer affairs in June.

§ Baroness Burton of Coventry
My Lords, while being grateful for the amount of information which the noble Lord always tries to give the House, am I to take it from his Answer that we have not made a great deal of progress? Is it not true that after the meeting of the council in December the permanent representatives were asked to examine the question of unfair and misleading advertising? Were they not also asked to deal with the question of doorstep selling, and to deal with it actively? Finally, were they not also asked to deal with the financial limit for product liability? If what the noble Lord has been good enough to tell us is "actively progressing", does he think that we could 336 find another adjective to use in asking the permanent representatives to get on with their tasks?

§ Lord Belstead
They are active enough, my Lords. The early warning on dangerous consumer products has been agreed, and there is now only one reserve (which, incidentally, is not our reserve) on doorstep selling. Progress is being made in two ways, and certainly much work is being done in respect of misleading advertising and product liability.

§ Baroness Burton of Coventry
My Lords, can the noble Lord the Minister tell the House when the next meeting of the consumer Ministers is to be expected and whether he anticipates that we shall then have answers to the two questions which have been referred to them? Finally, can the Minister tell the House what progress is being made with the European Commission's second consumer programme? Does this programme contain more than the four directives we have been discussing? If so, will it be possible for him to let the House have that information?

§ Lord Belstead
My Lords, the next Consumer Affairs Council will take place in the month of June. I am not aware of the exact date, but I know that the presidency intends that there will be another council in June. That means that there will have been three meetings taking the period from December to June, which I think is very desirable.
I can only respond to the second question asked by the noble Baroness by saying that I very much hope there will have been further progression on the three outstanding draft directives still to be agreed. The noble Baroness also asked me whether anything is remaining from the first consumer programme. Yes, there is: the consumer credit directive is still outstanding from the first consumer programme. It was not discussed on 2nd March, but we understand that the Commission has just issued a revised draft, amended in the light of the comments of the European Parliament.

§ Lord Sainsbury
My Lords, does the noble Lord the Minister not agree that, with regard to misleading advertising, the United Kingdom system of having a self-regulatory body is preferable to having a directive?

§ Lord Belstead
My Lords, the Government entirely agree with what the noble Lord. Lord Sainsbury, has said, and we are working towards that end.

§ Lord Leatherland
My Lords, will the Minister be careful not to be over-stringent with regard to doorstep selling? The milkman calls at my house every morning and asks my wife, "Do you want one pint or two pints?". She answers according to our needs. That is doorstep selling.

§ Lord Belstead
My Lords, there are exceptions in the draft directive at the moment, and I believe that they will set the noble Lord's mind at rest.