Country of Origin Marking (Manufactured Goods)

Debate between Tristram Hunt and Jo Swinson

Wednesday 27th February 2013 Commons Chamber

[Jo Swinson]

I will certainly endeavour to do so, because ensuring that existing provisions in law can be used is key to the question that the hon. Lady raises. The issue has not yet been tested in the courts in relation to origin markings. It is a broad concept, but the basic rule is that if consumers are likely to be misled in their purchasing decision, an offence is likely to have been committed.

Without commenting on specific examples, let me say that it is up to the enforcement authorities to consider whether there is any evidence of possible offences, and then it is for the courts to decide. The protection is not just for consumers—as in the example of gift buying outlined by the hon. Lady—but serves to ensure a level playing field for businesses that are honest and that give accurate information, so that they are not disadvantaged in relation to businesses that engage in deceptive practices. Local authority trading standards officers and the Office of Fair Trading are the relevant enforcement authorities in such a circumstance. The OFT’s role usually relates to matters affecting the general interests of consumers, rather than specific complaints, which are dealt with by trading standards officers. I encourage Members to ensure that any evidence of possible offences is brought to the attention of the relevant local authority, as has been alluded to.

Trading standards officers are, of course, answerable to their local authority and to local councillors. It is not the Government’s role to set local priorities for local enforcement activities, as they rightly depend on the issues arising in each area, and inevitably they will vary from authority to authority. In setting their priorities, however, local authorities must take into account the potential impact of particular behaviour not just on local consumers but on the wider well-being of the community, including the business community. Where local authority powers can be used to address matters that are having an adverse impact on a local economy with a particular concentration of businesses, it is reasonable for those matters to achieve the priority that they merit in that area.

[Tristram Hunt]

The Minister is making an informative speech. Does a case need to come to trading standards officers to encourage them to act, or can Members of Parliament, for example, make a generalised request to them to look into a specific sectoral complaint?

[Jo Swinson]

Clearly, trading standards can look where there is evidence, or where they perceive that there might be evidence of a breach. I am sure that specific cases would greatly assist them in making their inquiries more fruitful more quickly. I encourage hon. Members to speak to their local trading standards teams. I know that the council in Stoke-on-Trent is run by the hon. Gentleman’s Labour colleagues, who, I am sure, will be willing to listen attentively to his representations on the matter. I urge him to take up the matter with them, as they have powers to deal with misleading information that encourages consumers to make a different decision on product purchases. Although part of the problem is that that has not been tested, I wholeheartedly encourage the taking forward of such matters. Given the various ways that Members have of raising matters in the House, I am sure that the hon. Gentleman will not let the matter rest if he does not get satisfaction through that route.

On the issue of the misleading of consumers, it is important to understand what matters to the consumer. In a Eurobarometer survey in autumn 2010, 75% of people questioned said that origin did not affect their purchasing of textiles and clothing; for electronic products, the figure was 68%. I am not sure whether ceramics were included in that study. We need to be clear about how consumers prioritise different pieces of information in their buying behaviour: price, design, brand name and origin. In making any purchasing decision, consumers will consider a variety of such factors. Of course, it is true that some consumers are very concerned to ensure that they support British or locally made products and will want information on their origin.

I will turn briefly to the European Commission’s 2005 proposal for a regulation on compulsory labelling of imported consumer products. The Commission intends to withdraw the proposal, as I am sure the hon. Gentleman will be aware. I know that the UK’s ceramics sector has been a consistent supporter, but the Government have strong reservations, as was outlined in the Adjournment debate secured by my hon. Friend the Member for South Staffordshire (Gavin Williamson) in 2011, which other hon. Members have referred to and, indeed, participated in.

The reason the Commission gave for withdrawing the proposal was the lack of agreement in the Council and developments in the interpretation of World Trade Organisation rules that make it outdated. We expect confirmation on that in April. The proposal received a mixed response from member states. Many saw it primarily as a protectionist measure that discriminated between imported and EU-produced goods. Consumer information is important, but we do not necessarily want to go down a protectionist route.

The Government obviously share the concerns about the need to tackle counterfeit goods and provide accurate information and the genuine concerns about trademark and design breaches and the mislabelling of imported goods from some sources, as the hon. Member for Stoke-on-Trent Central has outlined, but it did not seem that the Commission’s proposal would add anything to the debate except additional administrative and cost burdens, so it is right that it is likely to be withdrawn. There was also a customs issue relating to the cost that would be imposed, particularly in the context of the public expenditure constraints we face. If that is not the best way to achieve the outcome the hon. Gentleman wants, which is to allow companies in his constituency a level playing field and enable consumers to be well informed, alternatives such as the ones I have talked about and better enforcement are a better way forward.

I will turn to the specific questions the hon. Gentleman asked towards the end of his remarks. He asked what funding the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills might be able to bring forward. The Department does not fund individual enforcement actions, but it does fund the National Trading Standards Board. As he might be aware, the trading standards landscape has been changing, because there were concerns that trading standards were too dispersed. The board will have greater power. We can bring the issue to the attention of the Office of Fair Trading, but it is up to it to consider whether an investigation is merited.

With regard to the “turnover club” and the mugs in the Department with no back-stamp, I must say that I brought my own mug to the Department when I arrived. It commemorated the suffragettes and I enjoy drinking my tea from it. I have never turned it upside down to see what stamp is on it, but I will do so, although not when it is full of tea—as the hon. Gentleman rightly said, it is not always an appropriate moment to do that. I was intrigued to hear about the “turnover club” and will endeavour to take up his challenge to see where the goods in the Department come from and pass on his concerns to others.