§ Mr. Gordon PrenticeTo ask the President of the Board of Trade what assessment he has made of the effect on newsagents of proposals to allow non-traditional outlets to supply and sell national newspapers.
§ Mr. Neil HamiltonIn deciding on the appropriate action to take following pubication of the Monopolies and Mergers Commission—MMC—report on the supply of national newspapers and the Director General of Fair Trading's advice on the report, I considered carefully the potential impact of my proposed action on existing retailers. I concluded that it was in the overall public238W interest to increase the level of competition and availability of newspapers, whether from traditional or non-traditional outlets.
I therefore announced on 9 December my intention to lay an order before the House to prohibit certain restrictions on the supply of newspapers which the MMC found to be against the public interest. A notice of my intention to lay this order was published on 21 December. It indicated the nature of the provisions the order is to contain and invited written representations from interested parties likely to be affected by the order. These will include existing newsagents and their representative organisations.