§ Mr. Pendryasked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he is now in a position to make a statement on the recommendation of the Monopolies and Mergers Commission report, Cmnd. 8858, in relation to a limited 427W experiment in Glasgow and Manchester for the independent cinemas in those cities to be afforded the same rights of access to films as EMI and Rank.
§ Mr. FletcherYes. Following a period of consultation after the publication of the report, I announced that I had asked the Director General of Fair Trading as an initial step to arrange for an experimental regime based on the Commission's recommendation on barring and a four-week limit to delays in the release of popular films, to be applied in selected locations, and to report back to me. As I said in answer to the hon. Member on 26 November 1984, the Director General encountered difficulties in setting up the experiment and I have been considering the position. I have held a number of meetings with representatives of exhibitors and distributors, and I am pleased to say that all have agreed in principle to give undertakings to participate in the experiment. The Government remain committed to this course, and we intend to finalise details shortly to enable the Director General to proceed with the experiment as soon as possible.