HC Deb 19 December 1952 vol 509 cc297-9W
Mr. J. Rodgers

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he has yet asked the Monopolies Commission to undertake any inquiry under Section 15 of the Monopolies and Restrictive Practices (Enquiry and Control) Act, 1948.

Mr. H. Strauss

Yes. A requirement for a report under Section 15 was sent to the Commission on 17th December. The full text is reproduced below.

Broadly, the Commission are to report on practices which involve agreement amongst a number of traders to discriminate in favour of or against a defined class of customers. These include the practices which have been referred to in reports of the Commission as "exclusive dealing" and "collective boycott."

THE MONOPOLIES AND RESTRICTIVE PRACTICES (INQUIRY AND CONTROL) ACT, 1948.

Requirement by the Board of Trade under Section 15. Whereas the Monopolies and Restrictive Practices Commission (hereinafter called "the Commission") in their reports relating to goods of particular descriptions have dealt with practices such as are specified below (hereinafter called "the specified practices"); 2. And whereas the Board of Trade are satisfied that it is expedient that the views of the Commission in relation to the specified practices should be formulated in a general report; 3. Now therefore the Board of Trade, in accordance with the powers conferred upon them by Section 15 of the Monopolies and Restrictive Practices (Inquiry and Control) Act, 1948, hereby require the Commission to submit to them a report on the general effect on the public interest of the specified practices. 4. For the purposes of this requirement "the specified practices" are actions taken in the course of carrying out such agreements as are described below:—

  1. (i) Agreements between two or more persons carrying on business as suppliers of goods in the United Kingdom which have the effect of requiring the parties to the agreements or any of them, either absolutely or to such extent as may be specified or described in the agreements or determined in accordance therewith,—
    1. (a) to withhold from any persons so specified, described or determined supplies of goods of any description or orders for such supplies;
    2. (b) not to provide such supplies or give such orders to such persons except on terms and conditions which are less favourable than those applicable in the case of other persons;
    3. (c) to offer to any person rebates to be calculated at rates dependent on the total value of goods supplied to that person by all the parties to the agreements:
  2. (ii) Agreements between two or more persons carrying on business as persons applying any process to goods in the United Kingdom which have the effect of requiring the 299 parties to the agreements or any of them, either absolutely or to such extent as may be specified or described in the agreements or determined in accordance therewith,—
  1. (a) not to apply that process to the goods of any persons so specified, described or determined;
  2. (b) only to apply such process to the goods of such persons on terms and conditions which are less favourable than those applicable in the case of other persons;
  3. (c) to offer to any person rebates to be calculated at rates dependent on the total value of work done for that person by all the parties to the agreements.
5. The expression "the specified parties" shall not however include actions taken in the course of carrying out—
  1. (a) agreements between a particular supplier or a particular processor of goods (whether an individual, a partnership or a body corporate) and the purchaser or owner (as the case may be) of those goods to which no other persons are parties;
  2. (b) agreements under which a licence is granted by the proprietor of a patent or trade mark (not being a certification trade mark) for the manufacture or sale of goods to which no persons other than the proprietor and licensee are parties;
  3. (c) agreements the only purpose of which is to allocate markets on a territorial basis among the respective parties thereto;
  4. (d) agreements to which the only parties are two or more interconnected bodies corporate within the meaning of the Monopolies and Restrictive Practices (Inquiry and Control) Act, 1948, or two or more persons carrying on business in partnership with each other.
6. The agreements mentioned in the foregoing paragraphs include any agreements or arrangements whether or not they would be legally enforceable.