Supply of Petrol (Report) (Hansard, 10 February 1966)

§ Mr. Jay

In consultation with my right hon. Friend the Minister of Power, I have decided to accept in principle the recommendations in the Monopolies Commission's Report on the Supply of Petrol relating to solus ties, tenancies, lubricants and non-petroleum products (that is, recommendations 1 to 6 and 8 in the Commission's Report).

I also accept the Commission's conclusion that it is in the public interest that there should be a limit on the acquisition and building of petrol stations by petrol suppliers (recommendation 7). Since such a limit on all suppliers with annual trade in excess of 10 million gallons, as suggested by the Commission, would carry a risk of discouraging new entrants to the U.K. market, with the effect of diminishing rather than promoting competition, I have decided that a modified form of restriction should be imposed. Under this, there would be no limitation on acquisitions by suppliers whose total annual trade did not exceed 50 million gallons. Suppliers subject to the limitation should not thereafter increase the total number of petrol stations in their ownership, save for the fulfilment of existing contracts with which there would be no interference.

I accept the Commission's view that it is in the public interest that existing solus and other agreements should not be enforced inconsistently with the Commission's recommendations. I am asking suppliers to undertake not to enforce terms which may be thus inconsistent and to consider favourably requests from parties to such agreements that these should be renegotiated to bring them into line.

I am also seeking undertakings from the interests concerned that they will conform to all the Commission's recommendations, subject to the modification of the recommendation concerning company-owned stations, and I am asking them to observe the spirit of the recommendations while the terms of the undertakings are worked out.