§ Mr. Byersasked the President of the Board of Trade what action the Government proposes to take in accordance with the recommendations of the Report of the Resale Price Maintenance Committee.
30W
§ Mr. H. WilsonI would refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Elland (Mr. Cobb) on 2nd June. I said then that I should invite the principal trade organisations to consider the most satisfactory means of ensuring that resale price maintenance by individual producers should not injure the interests of the consumer. I have now discussed the matter with representatives of the Federation of British Industries and of the National Union of Manufacturers. They have told me that the Federation and the National Union feel unable to give any general guidance on this matter to their constituent bodies, on the ground that individual resale price maintenance takes a variety of forms in different trades. I propose therefore to take the matter up directly with individual trade associations.
I also said on 2nd June that I hoped in the next few months to see industry itself taking steps to free distribution from the restrictions and controls involved in collective price maintenance arrangements, but I made it clear that the Government intended to ensure that the general public should not suffer from such restrictions. I now propose to ask the various price maintenance associations what they have done or may be about to do to this end, so that the Government can decide its course of action.