Prices Act 1974

2 Power of Secretary of State to regulate price of food and certain other goods.U.K.

(1)The Secretary of State may by order—

(a)regulate the prices to be charged for the sale of such subsidised food or fresh food as may be specified in the order and for the sale by retail of such other food or of such other goods to which this section applies as may be so specified;

(b)require persons selling by retail food or other goods in relation to which an order under paragraph (a) above is in force to display such information with respect to the effect of the order as may be so specified [F1or to keep that information available in writing in accordance with the order under this paragraph and on request in accordance with the order to produce and permit inspection of the document containing the information;]

[F2(c)require persons selling, or who have after the coming into force of this paragraph sold, such food or other goods as are mentioned in paragraph (b) above to keep such records as may be specified in the order as being records which the Secretary of State considers are needed for the efficient enforcement of an order under paragraph (a) above.]

(2)In subsection (1) above—

• “subsidised food” means food specified in or under subsection (2) of section 1 above, including bread and, if an order under paragraph (b) of that subsection describes the food to which it applies by reference to its use for the manufacture of any product, that product;

• “fresh food” means food produced in the course of agriculture, horticulture or fishing which has not been incorporated in any processed product and to which no process has been applied except—

  (a)

  cleaning, sterilising, breaking down of bulk supplies or packaging; and

  (b)

  in the case of any carcasses or parts of carcasses of livestock or poultry or of any product of fishing, chilling, freezing, curing, cutting up or boning and, in the case only of bacon and ham, cooking.

(3)The goods, other than food, to which this section applies are articles which appear to the Secretary of State to be necessities normally the subject of recurrent expenditure by, and significantly affecting the cost of living for, persons with small incomes.

(4)Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1) above—

(a)an order under paragraph (a) of that subsection may make provision whereby the price to be charged by a person is not to exceed his buying price as determined in accordance with the order by more than a margin so determined;

(b)an order under paragraph (b) of that subsection may make provision as to the place and manner in which any information is to be displayed;

(c)an order under [F3any] paragraph of that subsection may make different provision in relation to different circumstances and may contain such supplementary provisions as the Secretary of State thinks necessary or expedient.

(5). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F4

(6)Before making an order under subsection (1)(a) [F5or (c)] above the Secretary of State shall consult, in such manner as appears to him to be appropriate having regard to the subject-matter and urgency of the order, with such organisations representative of interests substantially affected by the order as appear to him, having regard to those matters, to be appropriate.

(7)In determining whether and in what manner to exercise the powers conferred by subsection (1)(a) above the Secretary of State shall have regard to the circumstances of the food trade and the trade in other goods to which this section applies and to the effect of the exercise of those powers on the profitability of those trades.

(8)The power to make an order under this section shall be exercisable by statutory instrument and, in the case of an order under subsection (1) above, includes power to vary or revoke a previous order; and—

(a)a statutory instrument containing an order under subsection (1) above shall be subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament;

(b). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F6

(9)Nothing in this section applies to the sale of food for consumption on the premises where it is sold.