§ Mr. Arnoldasked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) what assessments the Director General of Fair Trading has made of the implications for the net book agreement of the decisions of the European Court in (a) VBVB and VBBB v. the Commission and (b) Association Leclerc v. SA Thouars Distribution; and if he will make a statement;
(2) what assessment he has made of the implications for the net book agreement of the judgments of the European Court in VBVB and VBBB v. the Commission and Association Leclerc v. SA Thouars Distribution; and if he will make a statement;
(3) pursuant to the answer of 19 December 1984, Official Report, column 247, what aspects of the net book agreement the Director General of Fair Trading keeps under review and with what considerations in mind; and if he will make a statement;
(4) if the Director General of Fair Trading will make it his policy to review the net book agreement when relevant developments occur in Community law; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. ChannonUnder the legislation, the Director General of Fair Trading must demonstrate prima facie evidence of a material change in the relevant circumstances before he may apply to the Restrictive Practices Court to review its judgment on the net book agreement. The main consideration he has to bear in mind is whether there has been sufficient change in respect of those aspects of the operation of the agreement on which the court relied in reaching its judgment.
Relevant developments in the European Community are amongst the factors taken into account by the Director General, but it has to be borne in mind that the net book agreement is a voluntary arrangement operating principally within the United Kingdom, whereas VBVB and VBBB v. the Commission concerned trade between member states, Leclerc v. Thouars Distribution SA and Others involved statutory controls on book prices.