HC Deb 29 July 1964 vol 699 cc349-50W
Mr. Gresham Cooke

asked the Secretary of State for Industry, Trade and Regional Development whether he will make a further statement on the action taken as a result of the recommendations of the Report of the Monopolies Commission on the Supply of Electrical Equipment for Mechanically Propelled Land Vehicles.

Mr. Heath

The Commission made four recommendations:

  1. (a) the practice of resale price maintenance of reference goods should be terminated by all suppliers of such goods,
  2. (b) each manufacturer or importer of reference goods should publish his prices and terms, including quantity terms, for all sales of replacement goods made by him to distributors,
  3. (c) the Regulations of the B.S.B.A. (1960), in so far as they provide for the notification and exchange of information on the members' prices, terms, customers, guarantees and scrap allowances, and about non-members' trading activities, should be terminated and should not be replaced by any agreement or arrangement having similar effect,
  4. (d) Lucas's interests in the companies listed in Appendix 12 should 350 be made known by publication in this Report of the facts relating thereto.

Recommendation (d) has been implemented by publication of the Report. Recommendation (a) is covered by the Resale Prices Act. I have now been informed by the Chairman of the British Starter Battery Association (1960) that as from 1st August that part of the Association's Constitution which sets up the information service will be cancelled and will not be replaced by any agreement or arrangement having similar effect.

As I said in my speech on 6th July (HANSARD, Col. 43) recommendation (b) raises a number of important and complex considerations which go far beyond the context of the limited range of goods on which the Commission reported and made this specific recommendation. I have now arranged for my Department to undertake a study of the wider implications of this recommendation. I shall welcome any comment which trade organisations and other interested bodies might care to give to my Department on this matter.