§ Lord Kennetasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they intend that the Department of Trade and Industry should give routine consideration to the possible takeover of Coalite given the position of that firm in the political economy of the Falkland Islands.
§ The Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (Lord Young of Graffham)Under UK competition legislation the Director General of Fair Trading has a duty to keep himself informed of mergers and proposed mergers and to advise the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether a qualifying merger should be referred to the Monopolies and Mergers Commission for investigation. The proposed takeover of the Coalite Group plc will be considered by the director general in the normal way. The director general and the Secretary of State will give careful consideration to all relevant aspects.