§ Mr. Biffenasked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry by what statutory authority he has circularised 155 nonfood retailers with a turnover exceeding £5 million a year requesting weekly or monthly expenditures on SET before 1st April, the methods by which they propose to reflect SET savings in lower prices and details of how those savings are estimated.
Removal grants offered, £'000 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 Northern SDA … … … … 188 47 181 Northern DA (excl. SDA) … … … … 191 299 13 MerseysideDA … … … … 85 28 193 South Western DA … … … … 46 87 160 Welsh SDA … … … … 44 4 190 Welsh DA (excl. SDA) … … … … 368 382 62 Scottish SDA … … … … 8 Nil 65 Scottish DA (excl. SDA) … … … … 332 316 53 The Local Employment Act has now been replaced by the Industry Act 1972, and a similar scheme for removal grants has been established.
392W
§ Sir G. HoweUnder Section 12 of the Counter-Inflation Act 1973 I have power to restrict prices and charges to ensure that they correctly reflect the tax changes which took place on 1st April. In that context I wrote to retailers to ask them for information as to how they would pass on to the consumer savings from the abolition of SET, which vary according to individual circumstances.
§ Mr. Biffenasked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many complaints concerning VAT price changes have been received by the Inspectorate of Weights and Measures for the rural district councils of Oswestry, North Shropshire, and Market Drayton, respectively, at the latest convenient date.
§ Sir G. HoweNone of these councils is a weights and measures authority. In the week following the tax changes on 1st April, the Salop County Council authority, whose inspectors cover these districts, received 82 complaints concerning price adjustments.