§ Mr. Rookerasked the Secretary of State for Prices and Consumer Protection what evidence he has that the operation 510W of the Price Code has resulted in any price being greater than it would have been had the code not been in force.
§ Mr. MaclennanA survey conducted by the National Institute of Economic and Social Research early last year and sponsored by my Department indicated that 18 per cent. of a sample of manufacturing firms believed their prices would have been lower in the absence of a Price Code. No distributors shared this belief; and 37 per cent. of manufacturers and 17 per cent. of distributors believed that their prices would have been higher but for Price Code constraints. No corresponding evidence is available for the present code, which was introduced on 1st August 1976, after the conclusion of the survey.