§ Mrs. Millie Millerasked the Secretary of State for Prices and Consumer Protection if he will make a statement on his consultations on the future of bread price control.
§ Mr. HattersleySince I announced on 17th November my intention of changing the present arrangements for maximum price control on bread, we have consulted representatives of bakers, bakery workers and deliverymen, retailers, consumers and enforcement authorities. We have held over 20 meetings with interested parties. I am laying today the Bread Prices (No. 2) Order which gives effect to my proposals, incorporating various modifications in the light of the representations which have been made.
Under the new arrangements the statutory maximum retail prices will be progressively abated as the trade discount received by the retailer rises. The control will not, however, be limited to standard bread as I originally proposed. Nearly everyone whom we have consulted 578W has said that a control limited to standard bread could be readily circumvented. I have, therefore, reluctantly accepted the need for a similar kind of maximum price control over nonstandard bread as well, although I do not intend that it should restrict retailers' margins as tightly as that for standard bread.
As a result of the consultations I have also made a number of less important changes in the arrangements which I had proposed. The price of standard bread has been held unchanged pending the introduction of the new system. The statutory maximum prices in the new order will now provide for a ½p increase on all loaves in Great Britain following notifications by the major bakers to the Price Commission. In addition it will allow a ½p increase on all loaves in the United Kingdom as a result of the subsidy reduction foreshadowed in my earlier announcement. The maximum price of 28 oz. loaves will, however, be reduced by ½p in Northern Ireland in line with the special provisions under the Price Code which apply there.
The new order will come into force on Tuesday 4th January and I will at the same time remove the limits imposed under the bread subsidy scheme on the trade discounts which retailers can obtain from their suppliers. I will be keeping the situation under close review to see what changes will take place in the price and availability of bread.