That this House notes that ??5.50 tickets for Les Miserables have been sold for ??58.75 by the ticket agency Tickertron of 27 Kings Road, London; that ??13.75 tickets for Phantom of the Opera were sold for ??50 and ??6 tickets for Miss Saigon for ??25 by West End Tickets of 14 Charing Cross Road; that Portland Promotions of 1 Great Portland Street, London are selling ??9 tickets for Phantom of the Opera for ??50; congratulates the Society of West End Theatres for compiling a dossier listing many hundreds of victims of unscrupulous touts who deceive the public, and for exposing the extortionate prices charged by those ticket agencies who mislead visitors and tourists and charge up to 10 times the original face value of tickets for theatrical, musical and sporting events; notes that nine million people visit London each year and that visitors buy 40 per cent. of all West End theatre tickets and are particularly susceptible to touts masquerading as ticket agencies; calls on the Government to tackle those agencies who charge excessive amounts and outlaw the sale of tickets other than through approved agents; and congratulates members of the Ticket Agents Association and others who comply with the voluntary Code of Practice on Price Indications 1987, and who provide a valuable service to theatregoers in London.

That this House notes that ??5.50 tickets for Les Miserables have been sold for ??58.75 by the ticket agency Tickertron of 27 Kings Road, London; that ??13.75 tickets for Phantom of the Opera were sold for ??50 and ??6 tickets for Miss Saigon for ??25 by West End Tickets of...