§ Mr. FrenchTo ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what representations he has received concerning unprofessional conduct amongst estate agents; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. ButcherMy Department has received a number of representations alleging unprofessional conduct by estate agents. The main areas of concern have been failure to disclose a personal interest in a transaction, inadequate or misleading descriptions of property, and excessive commission rates. The Office of Fair Trading, which is responsible for administering the Estate Agents Act 1979, has also received a number of representations and issued 12 banning orders against estate agents guilty of serious misconduct during 1987.
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Steel industry1 employment in OECD countries (thousands) 1979 1982 1985 1986 1987 West Germany 204.0 181.3 152.0 147.9 137.4 Belgium 49.0 43.1 35.6 32.5 28.9 Denmark 2.7 1.7 1.7 1.8 1.6 France 125.0 96.8 80.7 71.9 63.0 Ireland 0.7 0.7 0.6 0.5 0.6 Italy 98.0 93.9 71.1 68.9 65.1 Luxembourg 17.0 13.4 12.4 12.5 11.6 Netherlands 21.0 20.5 18.9 18.9 18.8 United Kingdom 162.0 81.9 60.7 56.9 55.0 Austria 39.4 37.4 34.0 32.0 .. Spain 87.4 76.5 64.7 52.2 .. Finland 10.2 10.3 8.3 .. .. Greece 8.5 8.0 4.2 4.3 .. Norway 4.9 4.5 3.9 3.8 .. Portugal 6.5 7.1 6.6 5.9 .. Sweden 44.8 33.6 31.1 29.9 .. Switzerland 3.9 3.4 2.6 2.4 .. Turkey .. 21.6 29.1 32.0 .. Canada 53.0 47.0 42.5 .. .. United States 478.5 323.6 237.5 220.8 .. Japan 281.5 268.5 259.4 251.3 .. Australia 47.0 41.2 29.7 30.1 .. New Zealand 1.7 .. .. .. .. Total 1,746.7 1,416.0 1,187.3 .. .. I have invited representatives of the main organisations with an interest in estate agency to meet me to discuss areas of current public concern.