§ Mr. Farrasked the Secretary of State for Trade if he will initiate a further investigation by the Monopolies and Mergers Commission into petrol, with particular reference to the position of licensees and tenants and their insecurity of tenure on petrol company-owned filling stations.
§ Mrs. Sally Oppenheim[pursuant to her reply, 10 December 1981 c. 451]: Tenants enjoy certain rights under the Landlord and Tenant Act. Following the Monopolies and Mergers Commission's report on petrol in 1965 the oil companies gave undertakings about the minimum length of licences and tenancies; these are monitored by the Director General of Fair Trading. A further reference to the commission would be a matter for him. But it is questionable whether it would prove a suitable means of dealing with individual disputes between site owners and tenants or licensees over the terms of their tenancies or licences. There are existing procedures for resolving such disputes, including arbitration.