§ Sir John Pageasked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether, in view of the misleading bargain offers criticised in case report 129 of the Advertising Standards Authority dated 15 January, he will make a statement on the operation of the Price Marking (Bargain Offers) Order 1979.
§ Mr. HowardI recognise the limitations of this order and the Government have already declared their intention to introduce replacement legislation as soon as parliamentary time is available.
As indicated in the statement to the House by my hon. Friend the Member for Edinburgh, Central (Mr. Fletcher) on 4 March last year, the proposed legislation will include provisions for a general prohibition on misleading price indications, with the relevant supporting detail being provided in a statutory code of practice. Consultations with representatives of the trade, enforcement authorities and consumer organisations are currently taking place on the draft of a code for this purpose which includes provisions covering the type of practice on bargain offers criticised in the Advertising Standards Authority's case report 129.