§ Mr. Loydenasked the Secretary of State for Prices and Consumer Protection what steps she intends to take to give more positive powers to local authorities to establish consumer protection at local authority level.
Mr. Alan WilliamsLocal authorities already have wide powers which can be used for this purpose and my right hon. Friend proposes to ask for their help in enforcing the labelling provisions of the forthcoming legislation on prices. As I told the hon. Member for Gloucester (Mrs. Sally Oppenheim) on 25th March I plan to meet local authority representatives to discuss programmes for providing consumer advice centres.