§ Mr. Jim CunninghamTo ask the President of the Board of Trade (1) if she will amend Part III of the Fair Trading Act 1973, to extend the definition of unfair conduct to actions which may not amount to a civil or criminal offence but still oppress and mislead the consumer; [26830]
(2) if she will remove the condition of persistence of unfair practice, in respect of prosecutions of rogue traders. [26831]
§ Mr. Nigel Griffiths[holding answer 2 February 1998]: Active consideration is being given to the reform of Part III of the Fair Trading Act 1973. I have received a number of recommendations for changes including the removal of the condition of persistence of unfair practice, in respect of prosecutions of rogue traders.
666WReform of the Act will require primary legislation and there is at present a shortage of Parliamentary time to do so. I am therefore considering whether there are other options available that would allow us to take action in a shorter timescale to tackle these issues.