§ Mr. WyattTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) if he will call upon the Office of Fair Trading to publish the research underlying the Office of Fair Trading's definition of the home personal computer market; [117320]
(2) if he will refer exclusive supply arrangements in the market for home personal computers to the Competition Commission; [117323]
623W(3) what is his definition of the market for home personal computers in relation to the review of this market undertaken by the Office of Fair Trading in 1999. [117327]
§ Dr. HowellsUnder UK competition law in the first instance it is the responsibility of the Director General of Fair Trading (DGFT) to investigate allegations of anti-competitive behaviour and possible abuses of a dominant position. The Director General of Fair Trading has recently investigated the market for home personal computers and concluded that no individual retailer or manufacturer has market power in the home PC market, market entry to retailing is relatively easy and there is no evidence that supra-normal profits are being made.
It is a matter for the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) to set out the research behind the reasons for its decision. They are looking at ways of increasing transparency in merger decisions. I welcome that. I am today placing a copy of the OFT' s press notice of 28 October 1999 announcing its conclusions in the Library of the House.