HC Deb 01 March 1976 vol 906 cc450-2W
Mr. Brotherton

asked the Secretary of State for Prices and Consumer Protection what is her estimate of the cost of administration of the Price Check Scheme.

Mrs. Shirley Williams

The preparation and launching of the scheme entailed work in several Departments, notably those of Trade, Industry, Prices and Consumer Protection, and Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. Most of the work was handled by existing staff, but two additional members of staff were engaged for the task, one in my Department, one in the Department of Industry. The total cost of the official time spent on preparing the scheme in the four Departments, including accommodation and other office overheads, is estimated to have been in the order of:

Prices and Consumer Protection £25,000
Agriculture, Fisheries and Food £19,000
Industry £12,000
Trade £4,000

To answer inquiries about the scheme by retailers, nine additional staff members have been engaged for the first month of its operation. The cost of this service is estimated on the above basis to be about £6,000. Some further staff are likely to be taken on to deal with correspondence about the scheme.

Mr. Richard Wainwright

asked the Secretary of State for Prices and Consumer Protection whether the Price Check Scheme will lay any duties on local authorities or involve them in additional expenditure.

Mr. Maclennan

No.

Mr. Richard Wainwright

asked the Secretary of State for Prices and Consumer Protection what arrangements she has made to monitor the Price Check Scheme.

Mrs. Shirley Williams

Much monitoring of the scheme will, of course, be done by the shopping public, and retailers have been recommended by their trade associations to keep lists of their base prices for scheme items so that they can answer inquiries from their customers.

I have arranged to keep in close touch with the CBI and the Retail Consortium about the progress of the scheme, and especially about any cases where the Government's support is sought for a firm's withdrawal of an item from the scheme on account of any unforeseen increases—e.g., in the costs of materials.

I have also arranged with the CBI and the Retail Consortium that I shall receive from the larger manufacturers and retailers information about the selling prices of items within the scheme. I am making a special reference to the Price Commission to keep under review the prices of goods and services affected by the scheme, and to report to me from time to time. Under this reference the Commission will at my request carry out on the spot investigations through its regional offices of any significant instances in which the scheme does not seem to be working as intended. The Commission will report its findings to me. It will also collect information about the retail prices of items in the scheme, and keep me informed about the extent to which manufacturers are making use of the increased ability to cross-subsidise which has been provided in the recent amendment to the Price Code.

Mr. Neubert

asked the Secretary of State for Prices and Consumer Protection why, in the official Press advertisements promoting the Price Check Scheme, no mention is made that the prices of other goods, not in the scheme, may be increased in compensation.

Mr. Maclennan

The purpose of the advertisement was to inform the public what items were covered by the scheme. It was not designed to record all the circumstances surrounding the scheme. For example, no mention was made of the fact that the advertised list of items could be and is being supplemented by further items chosen by individual retailers.