Kr LAST, the Government has decided to set up a
committee to consider the whole question of con- sumer protection. This was announced in the House of Commons last week by Mr. John Rodgers, Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Trade. He said that he could not give the terms of reference or name the chairman or members of the committee but hoped to do so shortly. He was speaking in reply to a short debate which Mr. Frederick Willey, Labour Member for Sunder- land North, opened by moving 'That this House urges the Government to review the present safe- guards to protect the consumer and to ensure that they are effective, to encourage organisations seeking to assist the consumer and improve standards, and to provide, where necessary, further safeguards.' I welcome the setting-up of a com- mittee and hope that its terms of reference will be wide. It should consider not only how much information should be contained in advertise- ments but also how much should be put on labels; what statutory powers should be given to the pro- posed council to help it enforce its standards; whether there should be a new council or exten- sions of existing ones; and whether manufacturers need protection from themselves as much as con- sumers need protection from manufacturers.
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