§ Mr. Arthur Lewisasked the President of the Board of Trade whether he is aware of the growing practice of retail traders in general and petrol companies in particular illegally quoting the sale price of their goods in halfpennies and then automatically increasing the price to the nearest penny; and what action he proposes to take to prevent this price falsification on all forms of commodities.
§ Mr. Anthony GrantThe recent increases of ½d. per gallon by the petrol companies related only to wholesale prices. So far as the prices charged by retail traders in general are concerned, if anyone has reason to suppose that a trader is giving an indication that the price of goods is less than it really is, and that accordingly there may be a breach of the Trade Descriptions Act, 1968, he should report the matter to the local Weights and Measures Authority who have the statutory duty of enforcing the Act.