§ Mr. Michael Lathamasked the Secretary of State for Industry (1) whether, in view of the leaks which have been published in newspapers and magazines of extracts from the Economists Advisory Group Report, he will now make a statement on whether or not he accepts the 276W report's conclusion that the position of the British Shoe Corporation should be referred to the Monopolies and Mergers Commission;
(2) whether, in view of the fact that a four-page summary, including direct quotations, of the report commissioned by his Department from the Economists Advisory Group and submitted to the Footwear Study Steering Group has now been published in Shoe and Leather News for 8th July, he will now arrange for the publication of the entire report forthwith.
Mr. Alan WilliamsIt is for the Footwear Industry Study Steering Group to consider the various conclusions drawn in the EAG's report and to put forward recommendations on the basis of its discussions. Premature disclosure of a part of the report commissioned from the consultants is to be regretted, but I would not want to comment on the contents of the report before seeing the conclusions and recommendations of the Footwear Steering Group. Similarly, it is for the steering group to make any decision regarding the publication of this report, as well as other reports submitted to it.