asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food whether he now has any further statement to make as to the effect of the Emergency Powers (Defence) Food (Shell Fish) Order on the supply to retail fishmongers of the classes of shell fish covered by the Order?

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food (r) whether any lobsters have been caught since his new Order; and, if so, who were the principal ultimate buyers;

(2) whether he is aware that lobsters lose approximately 20 per cent. of their weight when boiled and, as there is no difference between wholesale and retail prices, alive or dead, no fishmonger can afford to sell them and the public cannot buy them; and whether he will take action to remedy this state of affairs?

During last winter and the early part of this year, the price of lobsters, crabs and crawfish became so high as to place these shellfish beyond the reach of the ordinary consumer. The price also tempted the inshore fishermen to neglect fishing for the more useful white fish in favour of fishing for lobsters and crabs. Maximum prices, which gave a fair return to the producer and were reasonable to the consumer, were consequently introduced. These shell fish are normally sold on, commission, and the consignor takes the risk of loss by reason of dead specimens or other casualties in each consignment, as it reaches the market. The extent of this loss varies considerably, and the fixing of a series of maximum prices which would be reasonably fair to the producer and wholesale merchants in all cases was not considered practicable. Only one maximum price for each species was, therefore, prescribed. This, in practice, becomes the maximum price of the boiled shell fish to the consumer. The effect of the Order has been to reduce substantially the price at which shell fish are being sold, but it has also disturbed the normal channels of trade through which these commodities, especially lobsters and larger crabs, passed to the consumer. Consideration is, therefore, being given by my Department to the steps which can be taken to direct a larger proportion of the supplies to fishmongers' shops, but my Noble Friend has no intention of raising the price to the high level reached earlier in the year.

Is it not the case that the Minister of Food has so disturbed supplies that there is no supply at all?

It is important to remember that the wholesale price of lobsters reached a figure of about 600 per cent. of the pre-war price.

Is my hon. Friend aware that fishmongers are refusing to take delivery because shell fish declines in weight when cooked and they have a great deal of trouble in cooking it, with the result that it all goes to restaurants?

I do not think that is wholly true. A great deal of crab is going to fishmongers, though perhaps not many lobsters.

Has the price of shell fish been taken into account in the cost of living?

That question should be, I think, addressed to the Minister of Labour.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food why the Emergency Powers (Defence) Food (Soft Fruit) Order (Statutory Rule and Order,. 1943, No. 684), dated 7th May, which came into operation on 10th May, was not available to hon. Members in the Vote Office until 15th May; and will he indicate the date on which the Order could be purchased by the public?

Exceptional weather this year delayed the fixing of growers' prices for soft fruits. Accordingly, with fruit coming on to the market early the new prices had to be brought into operation on 10th May before printed copies of the Order could be made available to the public and to hon. Members. The prices, which were fixed after the fullest discussion with the trade, were announced on 6th May, and, following the usual practice of my Department, copies of the Order were available for inspection by any member of the public at any food office from the day of its operation. Printed copies could be purchased by the public on 13th May. I am informed that copies were sent to the Vote Office on the morning of the 14th, but apparently did not arrive until the 15th.

Does not the Parliamentary Secretary think it most unsatisfactory if the public are placed in a position where they may commit offences which they do not know are offences because copies of the law are not available?

My hon. Friend will appreciate that the soft fruit crop is a ticklish one to deal with, and we have to move very quickly when the crop is coming on to the market.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food why the Emergency Powers (Defence) Food (Carrots) Order (Statutory Rule and Order, 1943, No. 686), signed on 8th May, which came into operation on 10th May, was not available to hon. Members in the Vote Office till 14th May; and will he indicate the date on which the Order could be purchased at the Stationery Office by the public?

This is a case in which it was desirable to give immediate effect to a decision to remove a restriction before printed copies of the Order could be made available. These copies were on sale to the public on 12th May, and I am informed were available in the Vote Office on 13th May.

Does the Parliamentary Secretary realise that there are no fewer than seven Questions on the Order Paper to-day relating to Orders made by his Department, and does he not think that, together with the Questions asked yesterday and on previous days, they disclose the unsatisfactory position of his Department in regard to the manner in which Orders are brought into operation?

The House will appreciate that the Ministry of Food is dealing in many cases with highly perishable commodities, and action has often to be taken within 24 hours. The alternative is that I should have to explain waste of food in many instances if we did not make these Orders very quickly.

Will the Parliamentary Secretary look into the machinery of his Department that deals with this matter?

In view of the fact that the Order came into operation on the 10th and was available to the public on the 12th, can my hon. Friend explain what would be the position of a person who infringed the Order on the 10th or 11th?

There could not be any infringement, because the Order allows a person to sell carrots which he could not otherwise sell.

Are any steps taken to use the wireless to bring Orders to the notice of the public?

Every effort is made to use the wireless, with, I think, success.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food why the Emergency Powers (Defence) Food (Green Vegetables, etc.) General Licence (S.R. & O. No. 691 of 1943), which involves for its interpretation reference to one Order of 1942 and two Orders of 1943, did not contain any explanatory memorandum?

I would refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for Newport (Sir R. Clarry) and the hon. Member for Stretford (Mr. Etherton) on 26th May, but I may add that in appropriate cases my Department has now adopted the practice 'of adding explanatory notes to its Statutory Rules and Orders in accordance with the undertaking which my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Home Department gave to the House on that day.

Does not the hon. Gentleman realise that tens of thousands of firms had to search back through two or three years of Orders, with the result that an enormous waste of time was entailed? Will he see that Orders are written and printed so that they may be understood without further research?

On this occasion there was a Press notice which was widely circulated indicating that the people concerned could sell their produce by count instead of by net weight.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food whether he is aware that in some American cities no milk older than 24 hours may be pasteurised and no pasteurised milk older than 30 hours may be sold; and whether he is prepared to introduce similar regulations here?

No, Sir, I regret that I have not information such as my hon. Friend mentions, but if he will supply me with particulars, I will have them examined, although I am afraid that the conditions in the two countries are not comparable.

Does the hon. Member not realise the need of supplying the public with fresh milk?

Certainly, Sir.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food whether he is yet in a position to make a statement with regard to the Oxford milk zoning scheme?

There is nothing I can add at present to the full letter which my Noble Friend sent to my hon. Friend on 15th May. I will communicate further with my hon. Friend as soon as details of the savings under the scheme are available.

Not having had the letter, may I ask—

Am I right in thinking that the hon. Member has already given notice that he will raise this matter on the Adjournment?

That was with regard to my laundry Question. This Question refers to milk. Is it not a fact that my hon. Friend's Order led to certain consumers in Oxford being compelled to receive milk from a retailer who is suffering from tuberculosis of the nose? Is it nut a fact that there is no power to compel him to cease business and that this can only be done by private negotiations and that if this matter had been raised before some representatives of the consumers this kind of thing would not have happened?

The question of the person suffering from lupus is dealt with in the letter to my hon. Friend. I think that he is now no longer delivering milk.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food when it is proposed to issue the Order under which membership of a war-time association on the part of wholesale provision dealers is to be made compulsory?

Wholesale grocery and provision dealers in every Food Division have joined their war-time association willingly and are co-operating with my Department in preparing schemes of transport and man-power economy. It has not yet been necessary to make an Order requiring them to join a war-time association, and the Ministry does not propose to make such an Order unless and until it becomes necessary.

I take it that a Press notice to this effect was not authorised?

That appears to be another question. I had no knowledge of such a Press notice.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food what amount of money the Cake and Biscuit Manufacturers' War Time Alliance, Limited, has spent, and has under contemplation to spend, on the advertising of biscuits and cake?

I would refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave him on 27th May. My Noble Friend does not control the finances of the Cake and Biscuit Manufacturers' War Time Alliance, and I am not in a position to supply the information for which he asks. The Alliance is incorporated as a limited company, and I understand that the report and accounts for the year ending 30th June, 1943, will give him the information required.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food whether arrangements can be made for larger supplies and a better distribution of fish so as to obviate the necessity of long shop queues in London and other centres and give a fair share to rural areas, as in Wiltshire.

My Noble Friend, in cooperating with my right hon. Friends who are responsible for Fisheries, makes every endeavour to secure the maximum possible quantity of edible fish, but supplies, whether landed by British vessels or imported, are much below the pre-war quantities and cannot be increased appreciably under present conditions. Subject to the over-riding consideration of transport economy, distribution in all areas is on the basis of population and over a period every area has its fair share.

How does it come about that we cannot get any fish in Wiltshire?

Is it not a fact that a large number of rural areas have never seen fish for a considerable period?

That is entirely contrary to the facts. Rural areas are much better off for fish than they have been in any other period of the war.

How can this be when fish supplies are prevented under the rationing of petrol and rubber from being delivered in country districts, and there are no shops?

In many rural areas the fish available to the fishmongers is so great in quantity that they are refusing it.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food why the best kinds and cuts of fish are not available in shops; and to what extent this is due to pre-emption by luxury hotels and blocks of flats, such as Grosvenor House, in the West End?

The quantity of prime fish landed is greatly reduced as compared with pre-war, but I have no reason to think that the proportion of such fish acquired by catering establishments is greater to-day than before the war.

Can my hon. Friend explain why it is not to be found in the shops?

Because really it is not there. The amount of brill, soles, turbot and halibut is less than 1 per cent. of the total catch.

Does not the recent case in the courts affecting Grosvenor House indicate that some establishments are getting more than their fair share of supplies of fish, and is it not likely that other establishments are doing the same?

I think it indicates also that the enforcement division is showing considerable vigilance in this matter and does its job when too much fish goes to these places.

Is the hon. Gentleman aware that there is a good deal of under-the-counter trade and that some people get fish two or three times a week while others cannot get it at all?

Has the hon. Member completed his investigations concerning the markets and their inclination to favour the hotels and restaurants despite any Regulations or Orders which he has made, and is he satisfied that they are really acting in accordance with the spirit of what is laid down by his Department?

We are very well aware of the problem, and, as the hon. Member knows, we have restricted the amount of fish going to catering establishments, which has just been put up to 3 lb. for every 100 main meals served, and that is very little. It is proportionate to the quantities available to the general population. We are extremely anxious to see that catering establishments do not get more than their proper share, and more than their proper share of the high quality fish, and that is really all we can do.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food whether he will give instructions that a better quality of feeding-stuff be provided for cattle and poultry, and to that end divert a quantity of the cereals supplied to the brewers to cattle owners and poultry-keepers?

The quality of feeding-stuffs available for purchase by farmers and poultry keepers is not unsatisfactory having regard to the cessation of imports of feeding-stuffs and the prior claims upon home cereals of industries manufacturing products for human consumption. My Noble Friend sees no reason to adopt the suggestion in the last part of my hon. Friend's Question.

Is my hon. Friend not satisfied that the shortage of milk, especially in the winter season, and of beef and eggs, is largely due to the inferior quality of the feeding-stuffs supplied, and have representations reached him regarding the mortality among poultry through the use of these feeding-stuffs; and in view of that will he not provide a better quality of feeding-stuffs from the sources I have suggested?

I am sure that every effort will be made to keep the quality as high as we can, but, as I indicated in my answer, my Noble Friend does not see any good reason for adopting the suggestion in the last part of the hon. Member's Question.