§ Mr. Clifton-BrownTo ask the President of the Board of Trade what estimate he has made of the cost to British industry of implementing the trading standards regulations.
§ Mr. LeighNo such estimate has yet been made. However, as part of the deregulation initiative, the Department of Trade and Industry is reviewing all the regulations for which it is responsible.
§ Mr. Clifton-BrownTo ask the President of the Board of Trade how many prosecutions were brought by trading standards officers in each of the last five years; and what percentage of(a) cases and (b) contested cases resulted in prosecution.
§ Mr. LeighIn England and Wales the numbers of prosecutions brought by trading standards departments have been as follows:
Numbers 1987–88 10,921 1988–89 12,682 1989–90 9,921 1990–91 10,469 1991–92 10,425 In Scotland, the numbers of prosecutions resulting from investigations made by standards trading departments and brought by the Crown through the procurators fiscal have been as follows:
Numbers 1987–88 355 1988–89 383 1989–90 300 1990–91 220 1991–92 267 Information about the number and outcome of comparable prosecutions in Northern Ireland and about the outcome of prosecutions in England, Wales and Scotland is not readily available.