Page 23 - BHTA 100 years

Around this time the Association found itself the subject of a court ruling regarding restrictive practices. The matter was concerned with the alleged passing of information about prices to rms in the Orthopaedic section. The Restrictive
Practises Court made an order against the Association prohibiting ‘the xing, arranging, exchanging information and/ or recommending increases in the prices of goods sold’.
In a meeting in 1965 there is the rst mention of the need for more public relations work to promote the Association. Members were not all-together convinced of the need for this and it was agreed that no further action would be taken at that time. A couple of years later there was also a discussion about producing a ‘journal’ for the BSTA, but again, that initiative was put on hold at that time.
The new Secretary was kept pretty busy as the Association moved to 21 Tothill Street in Westminster, the rst committee meeting being held there in September 1965.
There was some concern at the time from member companies about ‘special inducements’ being paid by non-member companies to ‘poach’ skilled workers. The problem was that non-member companies did not abide by the same aims and objects and code of conduct as member companies.
Centralised buying was being discussed once again in September 1966, after the ‘Hunt Committee Report’ proposed changes to the buying system and the setting up of a Centralised Division with ‘specialist staff’.
Memories from...
“Ian Sherwood
The most striking
memory I have from those days is the antiquated of ce and equipment. Two small rented rooms within the CBI’s premises in Tothill Street were what we could afford, and some of our furniture and equipment
was quite possibly as
old as the Association
itself. The environment
was unpressured, even pedestrian at times, and the Association was one of four quite separate corporate entities which pooled
their resources to rent the premises and employ th”e two staff.
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