§ Mr. Nicholas WintertonTo ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what representations he has recently received concerning competition in the United Kingdom petrol market.
§ Mr. MaudeA small number of representations have recently been received from hon. Members and independent petrol retailers about the United Kingdom petrol market.
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§ Mr. Nicholas WintertonTo ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (1) whether he is satisfied with the level of competition in the United Kingdom petrol market ;
(2) whether he will refer to the Monopolies and Mergers Commission the question of competition in the petrol supply industry; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. MaudeUnder the competition legislation it falls to the Director General of Fair Trading to keep competition in the United Kingdom market under review. The director general is continuing to monitor certain aspects of the competitive situation in the petrol supply market, but I understand that at present he sees no justification in developments in the petrol market for taking action under the legislation for which he is responsible.
§ Mr. Nicholas WintertonTo ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what is the total number of petrol retail sites currently operating; and how this figure compares with the numbers for the previous 10 years.
Sales of motor spirit to the retail sector Thousand tonnes Year Grade 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 5-Star 694 161 21 — — — — — — — 4-Star 12,117 14,101 14,872 15,393 15,041 15,656 16,107 16,990 17,361 18,621 3-Star 1,388 1,112 859 590 410 257 166 111 77 48 2-Star 2,220 2,052 2,023 2,181 2,486 2,431 2,431 2,331 2,188 2,052 Total 16,419 17,426 17,775 18,164 17,737 18,396 18,704 19,432 19,626 20,721
§ Mr. Nicholas WintertonTo ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what share of the United Kingdom retail petrol market is currently held by the three largest retailers ; and how this figure compares with the share in each of the previous 10 years.
§ Mr. MaudeThe percentage share of the retail petrol market held by the three largest retailers is as follows :
Per cent. 1976 53.1 1977 54.1 1978 53.4 1979 56.2 1980 55.2 1981 53.5 1982 50.7 1983 47.0 1984 49.7 1985 50.0 1986 50.4 Source: Office of Fair Trading.
§ Mr. Nicholas WintertonTo ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what information he has concerning the percentage of retail petrol sites in each of the last five years for which figures are available which are(a) independent, (b) tenants and licensees and (c) managed sites.
§ Mr. MaudeThe number of petrol retail sites operating over the period 1976–86 is as follows :
Number 1976 30,383 1977 29,751 1978 28,295 1979 26,480 1980 25,527 1981 24,760 1982 24,108 1983 23,097 1984 22,032 1985 21,140 1986 20,641 Source: Office of Fair Trading.
§ Mr. Nicholas WintertonTo ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what has been the total volume of retail petrol sales in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available.
§ Mr. MaudeThe figures, which are available in the Digest of United Kingdom Energy Statistics, are as follows:
per cent. 1982 68.6 1983 68.3 1984 68.6 1985 68.6 1986 68.7 Source: Office of Fair Trading.
I shall write to my hon. Friend as soon as possible with the comparable percentage figures for tenants and licensees, and managed sites.