HC Deb 02 November 1955 vol 545 cc124-6W
Mr. Shepherd

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he is now able to announce the terms of reference to the Monopolies and Restrictive Practices Commission relating to the supply of chemical fertilisers.

Mr. P. Thorneycroft

Yes. The reference was sent to the Commission on 1st November. The full text is as follows:

CHEMICAL FERTILISERS

1. Whereas it appears to the Board of Trade that it is or may be the fact that conditions to which the Monopolies and Restrictive Practices (Inquiry and Control) Act, 1948, applies prevail as respects—

  1. (a) the supply (as fertilisers or for use in the production of fertilisers) of one or more of only the following, namely, ammonium sulphate, ammonium nitrate, Nitro-Chalk and sodium nitrate;
  2. (b) the supply (as fertilisers or for use in the production of fertilisers) of one or more of only the following, namely, potassium chloride, kainite and potassium sulphate;
  3. (c) the supply (as fertilisers or for use in the production of fertilisers) of one or more of only the following, namely, calcium superphosphate (single) and calcium superphosphate (triple);
  4. (d) the supply as a fertiliser of ground rock phosphate;
  5. (e) the supply as a fertiliser of basic slag;
  6. (f) the supply of compound and complex fertilisers being fertilisers containing (with or without other materials) two or more of the following elements, namely, nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, of which at least one is present in inorganic or synthetic form.

2. Now therefore the Board in pursuance of Section 2 (1) of the said Act hereby refer to the Monopolies and Restrictive Practices Commission for investigation and report the matter of such supply.

3. The Commission shall as respects such supply investigate and report on

  1. (1) whether the conditions to which the Act applies in fact prevail and if so in what manner and to what extent;
  2. (2) the things which are done by the parties concerned as a result of or for the purpose of preserving those conditions; and
  3. (3) whether the conditions in question or all or any of the things done as aforesaid operate or may be expected to operate against the public interest.

Mr. Shepherd

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he is now able to announce the terms of reference of the Monopolies and Restrictive Practices Commission's inquiry into common prices and collusive tendering.

Mr. P. Thorneycroft

Yes. The terms of reference which require a report under Section 15 of the Monopolies and Restrictive Practices (Inquiry and Control) Act, 1948, were sent to the Commission on 1st November. The full text is as follows:

COMMON PRICES AND COLLUSIVE TENDERING

Whereas the Monopolies and Restrictive Practices Commission (hereinafter referred to as "the Commission") in their reports relating to goods of particular descriptions have dealt with practices such as are specified below (hereinafter referred to as "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 purpose 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 the business in the United Kingdom of supplying goods in the United Kingdom which have the effect of restricting or limiting the freedom of the parties to the agreements or any of them with respect to the prices at which they are to supply, offer to supply or tender for the supply of goods in the United Kingdom;
  2. (ii) agreements between two or more persons carrying on the business in the United Kingdom of applying any process to goods which have the effect of restricting or limiting the freedom of the parties to the agreements or any of them with respect to the prices at which or the charges for which they are to apply, offer to apply or tender for the application of that process to goods.

5. The expression "the specified practices" shall not include:—

  1. (i) the practices of exclusive dealing, collective boycotts, aggregated rebates and other discriminatory trade practices which were the subject of an inquiry under Section 15 of the said Act on which the Commission reported on 13th May, 1955, under the general title of Collective Discrimination (Cmd. 9504);
  2. (ii) actions taken in the course of carrying out
  1. (a) agreements of the kind referred to in paragraph 4 hereof insofar, but only insofar, as they provide for individual resale price maintenance;
  2. (b) agreements between a particular supplier 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;
  3. (c) agreements between a particular person carrying on the business of applying a process to goods (whether an individual, a partnership or a body corporate) and the customer for whom or to whose order the process is applied and to which no other persons are parties;
  4. (d) agreements to which the only parties are two or more inter-connected 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.