§ Mr. Nicholas Wintertonasked the Paymaster General (1) if he will make a statement on the background to the case currently being heard by the Fair Competition Committee in Brussels which refers to the anti-competitive implications of the United Kingdom proposal contained in CON(LO) 1981–82 which deals with the use of excavators as cranes;
(2) if he will make a statement outlining the case which Her Majesty's Government will be putting forward in Brussels in support of condition 6 of CON(LO) 1981–82 when the matter is considered by the Fair Competition Committee.
§ Mr. Kenneth Clarke[pursuant to his reply, 8 May 1987]: I refer my hon. Friend to the replies which my hon. Friend the Under-Secretary of State gave on 14 and 15 April 1986 at column 855.
The certificate of exemption No. CON(LO) 1981–82 is not subject to the notification requirements imposed by EEC directive 83/189. It is therefore not a matter for formal consideration by the committee to which my hon. Friend refers. However, the matter is being formally discussed by that committee and with representatives of appropriate trade associations in this country.