Oral Answers to Questions — Trade and Industry – in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 27 July 1983.
Miss Betty Boothroyd
Member, Labour Party National Executive Committee
12:00,
27 July 1983
asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry on how many occasions he has made referrals to the Director General of Fair Trading in accordance with section 13 of the Competition Act.
Mr Alexander Fletcher
, Edinburgh Central
Section 13 of the Competition Act 1980 has not yet been used.
Miss Betty Boothroyd
Member, Labour Party National Executive Committee
Is the Minister aware that since his party assumed Government the price of petrol has been increased by £1 a gallon and that each year consumers are now paying £500 million in standing charges alone to the gas and electricity industries? Is he further aware that those matters are of great public concern? Why does he not act on behalf of the public and use the powers at his disposal by referring those massive price increases to the Director General of Fair Trading for investigation?
Mr Alexander Fletcher
, Edinburgh Central
I do not think that there are any grounds for referral of the matters which the hon. Lady suggested, certainly not under section 13, which is held in reserve for specific cases of abuse.
John Maples
, Lewisham West
While my hon. Friend is considering matters that have been referred to the Office of Fair Trading, will he consider the outstanding action against the Stock Exchange? Can he confirm that any settlement of that action will deal at least with the points raised by the Director General of Fair Trading over minimum commissions, broker-jobber relationships and membership restrictions? Can he confirm his Department's understanding that any settlement not dealing with those matters, while it might be popular with the stockbrokers, will not be popular with anyone else, including the great body of City opinion?
Mr Alexander Fletcher
, Edinburgh Central
I understand my hon. Friend's interest in those matters, but I hope he will forgive me if I suggest that he waits until later, when my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State hopes to make a statement.
Mr Greville Janner
, Leicester West
Nevertheless, is it not right that there are two ways to kill off an organisation? One is by destroying its credibility by over-ruling its wishes, and the other, as in the Minister's answer to the question, is by not referring anything to it at all. Is it his intention to destroy the Office of Fair Trading? Is he proposing to close it down?
Mr Alexander Fletcher
, Edinburgh Central
There is, no justification for the hon. and learned Gentleman's remarks.
Secretary of State was originally the title given to the two officials who conducted the Royal Correspondence under Elizabeth I. Now it is the title held by some of the more important Government Ministers, for example the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.
Ministers make up the Government and almost all are members of the House of Lords or the House of Commons. There are three main types of Minister. Departmental Ministers are in charge of Government Departments. The Government is divided into different Departments which have responsibilities for different areas. For example the Treasury is in charge of Government spending. Departmental Ministers in the Cabinet are generally called 'Secretary of State' but some have special titles such as Chancellor of the Exchequer. Ministers of State and Junior Ministers assist the ministers in charge of the department. They normally have responsibility for a particular area within the department and are sometimes given a title that reflects this - for example Minister of Transport.
