§ Lord Gallacherasked Her Majesty's Government:
Why it has been decided to rely on a code of practice instead of regulations for the control of misleading price indications under the Consumer Protection Act 1987, and what arrangements are proposed for monitoring compliance with the code of practice.
§ The Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (Lord Young of Graffham)Following extensive consultations on proposals for controlling misleading price indications, we decided that the most effective approach would be to introduce a code of practice under the provisions of Section 25 of the Consumer Protection Act 1987. The consultations revealed that there was no consensus in support of regulations on comparison with recommended retail prices or with traders' own previous prices.
We have proposed to the various interested parties that a committee should be established to monitor the practical effectiveness of the new regime after it comes into effect on 1st March 1989. The committee could recommend corrective measures if these appeared necessary.