§ 53. Mrs. Ann TaylorTo ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he has any plans for seeking to extend consumer protection.
§ Mr. ForthPart III of the Consumer Protection Act 1987 comes into force on 1 March 1989 making it an offence to give misleading price indications. We shall be making regulations under part III governing price indications at bureaux de change and the resale of electricity and gas by landlords. An order will be introduced under the Prices Act 1974 to implement EC directives on unit pricing and price marking of food and non-food products.
We plan to amend the law on the sale and supply of goods following the Law Commission's report and to amend the Consumer Credit Act and related legislation as detailed in the recent White Paper "Releasing Enterprise" (Cm 512). We shall also introduce revised regulations on pyramid selling.
In the field of consumer safety, we shall soon be introducing regulations with strict requirements for domestic gas cookers. Regulations on toy safety are being prepared to implement and EC directive. Safety standards for a wide range of consumer products are being updated for the purposes of the general safety requirement in the Consumer Protection Act 1987.