§ Mr. Nigel GriffithsTo ask the President of the Board of Trade (1) if he will consider if the practice of other high street retailers of promoting their extended warranty schemes rather than the ones offered cheaper by manufacturers may breach the Restrictive Trade Practices Act 1976;
(2) if he will refer extended warranty schemes operated by white goods retailers to the Director General of Fair Trading.
§ Mr. Neil HamiltonUnder the competition legislation responsibility for considering and, if appropriate, investigating allegations of restrictive trade practices, anti-competitive behaviour and abuse of market power lies with the Director General of Fair Trading, Sir Bryan Carsberg. I am asking Sir Bryan to consider whether the practice identified by the hon. Member warrants investigation and to write to the hon. Member.