§ Mr. Nicholas WintertonTo ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will now make it his policy to receive a delegation led by the hon. Member for Macclesfield to discuss the provisions of the European directive on unfair consumer contracts and its implications for British industry.
§ Mr. McLoughlin[holding answer 1 July 1994]: If my hon. Friend contacts the Minister for Consumer Affairs and Small Firms, I am sure that my noble Friend will be pleased to meet with him.
§ Mr. Nicholas WintertonTo ask the President of the Board of Trade, pursuant to his answer of 23 June,Official Report, column 254, when he expects to complete the compliance cost assessment in relation to the European directive on unfair consumer contracts; which trade associations and individual companies have been consulted specifically in connection with that assessment; and if he will list all those provisions likely to prove onerous to industry which his Department succeeded in having deleted from the European directive on unfair consumer contracts.
§ Mr. McLoughlin[holding answer 1 July 1994]: A compliance cost assessment is being prepared on the proposals to implement the EC directive on unfair terms in 116W consumer contracts and will be published shortly. All trade associations and companies that received the Department's consultation document were invited to make an estimate of the compliance costs. Provisions in earlier drafts of the directive which were considered likely to be onerous to industry included extension of the scope of the directive to all contract terms, whether negotiated or not; inclusion of a blacklist of terms which would be unfair in all circumstances; and an attempt to harmonise sale of goods legislation.