§ Mr. McQuarrieasked the Secretary of State for Trade, further to the reply of the Minister of State on 16 April, Official Report, c. 283., whether the discussions with the Director General of Fair Trading have included the question of the zoning of petrol prices in rural areas of Scotland; and whether he will take steps to investigate the practices of oil companies in charging different wholesale prices for bulk tanker loads in different places, for example Aberdeen and Fraserburgh.
§ Mrs. Sally OppenheimMy discussions with the Director General did not include zonal pricing, which the Monopolies and Mergers Commission report on petrol (1979) found to be a long standing practice without anti-competive effects. The director has no present plans for investigating local wholesale price differentials, whether arising from this practice or otherwise, but has stated his readiness to use his powers if he has evidence that wholesalers are abusing their market power.