§ Baroness ELLESasked Her Majesty's Government:
- (a) how many cases there have been of an investigation under Article 14 of Regulation No. 17 in the United Kingdom in each year since accession to the European Communities, and
- (b) whether all such investigations in each year have been ordered by a Decision of the Commission.
§ Lord TREFGARNE(a) The following is the number of separately identifiable investigations in the United Kingdom under Regulation 17/62 since accession:
1974 6 investigations which involved 27 visits to undertakings. 1975 10 investigations which involved 33 visists to undertakings. 1976 9 investigations which involved 22 visits to undertakings. 1977 10 investigations which involved 28 visits to undertakings. 1978 12 investigations which involved 29 visits to undertakings. 1979 (to end of October) 12 investigations which (involved 38 visits to undertakings. However, some of the investigations may not have been made under Article 14, 1085WA some undertakings have been visited more than once in the same investigation, and some investigations have spanned a number of years. Some investigations and visits are therefore included in more than one year's figures.
(b) No. Only seven investigations have been ordered by a Decision of the Commission, all in 1979.