§ Mr. John Ellisasked the Secretary of State for Prices and Consumer Protection what is the cause of tile delay in his Department approving the new £1 acceptors for petrol pumps; and what steps are being taken to speed up such approvals.
§ Mr. John FraserThere is no undue delay in examining the designs of note acceptors, which are dealt with as modifications to the approved petrol pumps with which they are to be associated. If, however, a design is found to have objectionable features which make it unsuitable for use for trade then approval is either refused or withheld until it is rectified. Note acceptors being electronic can 551W malfunction due to their susceptibility to electrical interference unless adequately protected in design and therefore the acceptor and associated pump may need to be examined in combination to determine the overall suitability.
Delays in granting approval may arise either from the manufacturer experiencing difficulty in providing both note acceptor and pump or from the equipment being found unsatisfactory on examination and having to be referred back for design changes.