HC Deb 15 July 1993 vol 228 cc616-7W
Mr. Wareing

To ask the President of the Board of Trade, pursuant to his answer of 12 July,Official Report, column 347–48, on discussions with Grand Metropolitan Estates Ltd., what were the undertakings given to the Director of Fair Trading by Grand Metropolitan Estates Ltd., following the Monopolies and Mergers Commission report on the Elders IXL Ltd./Grand Metropolitan plc merger; and whether he is satisfied that these have been met.

Mr. Neil Hamilton

I have placed copies of the undertakings in the Library of the House. The majority of the undertakings were to come into effect in three stages, on 31 October 1992, 31 March 1995 and 31 March 1998. The parties have supplied the Director General of Fair Trading (DGFT) with details of the measures they have taken to comply with the first of these stages. These have been considered carefully by the Office of Fair Trading and some points of detail are presently the subject of correspondence with the company. The DGFT's monitoring of compliance will be a continuous process.