§ Mr. CummingsTo ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will make it his policy to encourage the provision of more sales outlets for cleaning and soaking solutions for contact lenses.
§ Mr. Neil HamiltonThis is already the Government's policy. A recent Monopolies and Mergers Commission report recommended, among other things, that the retailing of contact lens solutions—CLS—should be opened to all retailers who wished to sell them, subject to satisfying standards for storage and product recall. As I announced on 27 May, my hon. Friend the Minister for Health has decided, following recent independent expert advice, that the existing rules restricting retail sales of CLS to opticians and pharmacies could be relaxed without any increased risk to health. Companies may now apply for appropriate changes to their product licences to permit supply of CLS via general sales outlets, such as supermarkets.