§ Mr. Marlowasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will take powers to intervene with the charging policies of the clearing banks and other financial monopolies.
§ Mr. Lawson[pursuant to his reply, 21 May 1981, c. 128]: No. In general, the Government look to competition to protect the interests of the consumer and do not believe in interfering with commercial decisions taken in the competitive marketplace. Powers to investigate monopolies and abuses of market position are already available under the Fair Trading and Competition Acts. I would, however, hope that given the importance of the clearing system in providing means of payment, the clearing banks would give reasonable notice of any changes in their tariffs.