§ Mrs. Renée Shortasked the Secretary of State for the Environment if, in view of the import restrictions on British construction materials in other European Community countries by means of technical approval systems, he will now introduce a similar quality control approvals system for all similar construction materials imports entering the United Kingdom.
§ Mr. StanleyThe Government have no plans to make British Standards and agrement certificates for construction products mandatory. However, the Government are adopting a very positive policy towards maximising the use of certified products in their regulatory activities and in their role as a purchaser, as indicated by the Secretary of State for Trade in the White Paper "Standards, Quality and International Competitiveness" (Cmnd. 8621), issued in July, and by myself, in the answer that I gave to my hon. Friend, the Member for Reading, North (Mr. Durant) on Friday 16 July.—[Vol. 27, c.495.]
§ Mrs. Renée Shortasked the Secretary of State for the Environment if, in view of the need to protect the building products industry and its clients against unfair competition in respect of production costs and quality by the unrestricted imports of foreign products, he will accept the draft Community directive for a common products approvals system for the construction industries which was produced four years ago.
§ Mr. StanleyAs far as unfair competition is concerned, there are procedures under the Treaty of Rome and GATT agreements to deal with allegations of unfair competition by other countries, in building as in other products, and such allegations, which need to be substatiated on a case by case basis, should be referred to my hon. and learned Friend the Minister for Trade. I set out the Government's position on the proposed European Community Framework Directive on Construction Products (78) 449 in the answer that I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Melton (Mr. Latham) on Wednesday 1 December 1982.—[Vol. 33, c.210.]