§ Mr. MartlewTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will refer the lack of price competition by the large food retailers to the Monopolies and Mergers Commission for them to carry out a full investigation.
§ Mr. Redwood[holding answer 19 November 1991]: The Director General of Fair Trading continues to keep markets under review, but I understand that at present he has no evidence of price-fixing which would justify a reference of the food retailing sector to the Monopolies and Mergers Commission. Any evidence of anticompetitive practices should be referred to the director general. Recently there has been evidence of price competition.