§ Mr. William Hamiltonasked the President of the Board of Trade how many manufacturers and retailers have agreed not to impose price increases as a result of his Department's intervention; and what portion of the total this represents.
§ Mr. JayThe White Paper on the Prices and Incomes Standstill asks manufacturers to notify the Government of proposed increases in prices. So far the Board of Trade has received 140 such notifications. Of these 17 have been accepted as coming within the criteria stated in the White Paper, five have already been withdrawn and the remainder66W are still under discussion. The Board is also investigating all complaints received from the public of price increases by retailers. Four such increases have been withdrawn, and some of the largest retailers have given assurances that they will not increase prices more than is justified by the strict application of the criteria stated in the White Paper. In general, the evidence is that the great majority of both manufacturers and retailers are complying fully with the policy set out in the White Paper.