§ Mr. Cantasked the President of the Board of Trade whether he will review the terms of reference of the Monopolies Commission inquiry into professional services so as to include practices expressly authorised by or under any enactment or Royal Charter.
§ Mr. CroslandI have today sent a revised requirement to the Monopolies 43W Commission to replace that made on 30th January. The effect of this action is to bring within the scope of the Inquiry by the Monopolies Commission practices which are authorised by or under Royal Charter, or which are authorised by or under any statute enacted before 1st January 1956.
The revised request is as follows:
The Board of Trade, in pursuance of the powers conferred upon them by section 5 of the Monopolies and Mergers Act 1965, hereby require the Monopolies Commission (hereinafter called "the Commission") to submit to the Board a report on the general effect on the public interest of the following practices so far as they prevail in relation to the supply of professional services, that is to say, practices which are restrictive of—
Provided, however, that the Commission shall not report on any practice which at the time of the submission of the report is expressly authorised by or under any statute enacted after 31st December, 1955, including any practice expressly authorised by any subordinate legislation then in force and continued in force by a subsequent statute.
- (a) entry into a profession;
- (b) the fees or commissions to be charged for the supply of such services;
- (c) the rendering of such services by or on behalf of bodies corporate or by persons acting in partnership;
- (d) the persons to whom, or the circumstances in which, such services are to be supplied;
- (e) the terms or conditions on which, or the manner in which or extent to which, such services are to be supplied;
- (f) the carrying on of any other business by persons supplying such services or the commercial relationship of such persons with others engaged in other activities;
- (g) the extent to which, if at all, persons supplying such services may advertise:
For the purposes of this instrument the practice of limiting entry to a profession to persons who pass examinations designed to test their proficiency shall be regarded as a practice restricting entry into that profession but the Commission shall not report on the standard of proficiency required for entry into any profession.
The Board's Request for a general report on restrictive practices affecting professional services dated 30th January, 1967 is herby withdrawn.