asked the Minister of Food why he has compelled butchers in the Meriden rural district to accept, as part of the meat ration, animal tissue described as "New Zealand boneless cow;" whether he is aware that the butchers refused to supply this to their customers but are required to pay the same price for it as for meat; and whether he will permit this tissue to be sold for dogs and cats and provide meat of fair quality to cover the ration.

This meat was issued in error. I have given instructions that in future it will be used only for manufacturing purposes.

Will the butchers be required to pay for this meat issued in error, or will the amount be refunded?

I will make inquiries on that, but I should have thought it would be refunded.

asked the Minister of Food what is the policy of his Department in regard to the continuance of British Restaurants, in view of the fact that no further financial help is available to them.

As my hon. Friend may recollect, the Civic Restaurants Act lays the financial responsibility for these restaurants upon local authorities. I hope and believe that local authorities will make the fullest possible use of their new powers to run restaurants.

asked the Minister of Food what were the terms of the indemnity required, as a condition of payment for goods seized by him under the Seizure of Food Orders, 1942 and 1946, from defendants acquitted or not prosecuted after the seizure; why he sought indemnity; and why he withheld payment pending receipt of indemnity.

I am sending the hon. Member a copy of the form of indemnity which has been used by my Department since 1942. Its purpose is to ensure that the proceeds of sale are returned to the legal owner, and it offers a much simpler method of doing this than if formal proof of ownership had to be given and verified.

What does the Minister want proof of ownership for, when he has seized the goods from the owner?

It is just in those cases where the ownership may be in doubt.

asked the Minister of Food whether he is aware that dog biscuits are unobtainable in the Leicester area; whether they are in short supply over the whole country; and what possibility there is of an increase, in view of the fact that they are the staple diet of dogs at the present time.

There have been shortages of dog biscuits in some parts of the country, including Leicester, because of fuel cuts at the factories and transport difficulties during the severe weather, this should right itself now.

Will the Minister be good enough to speed the matter up, particularly in view of the fact that people are afraid that their dogs will suffer and prosecutions may possibly be taken against some?

Is it not a fact that the shortage in Leicester is very largely because human beings are eating dog biscuits?

Are not too many of these dog biscuits going to feed the political jingoes to whom the Chancellor of the Exchequer referred?

asked the Minister of Food (r) what steps he has taken since 27th February to give extra non-rationed food to mining communities; and if there has been any increase allocated to South Wales;

(2) on what basis were allocations of non-rationed foods made to the South Wales development area in 1946; and what change has been made since then.

I would refer my hon. Friend to the answer given to the hon. Members for Neath (Mr. D. J. Williams), North-East Leeds (Miss Bacon) and Stockton-on-Tees (Mr. Chetwynd) on 10th March. With permission I will circulate in the OFFICIAL REPORT a list of the areas in South Wales which, on 31st March, received increased allocations of rationed ingredients for meat products, cakes and fish frying, and the list is rather too long to read aloud, and the Welsh names are too difficult. He will see that these areas cover the whole of the South Wales coal fields.

I take this opportunity of informing the House that we have just been able to arrange for some three quarters of a mil-lion surplus army ration packs each con- taining foodstuffs sufficient for one man for six days to be made available for purchase by coal miners all over the country through the colliery managements and the National Union of Mineworkers.

Can the Minister say if the extra allocation to the mining areas merely brings them up to the national average?

Oh, yes, that is the purpose.

Will the Minister say whether or not lie can make some of these packs available to agricultural workers?

It was decided, rightly, I think—

By whom?

By the Government. It was decided that the best use for these packs, as a small additional supplement of food, at the present time would be in the coalfield.

Is the Minister aware that the production of agricultural workers is higher than it was before the war?

In view of the fact that Ministers cannot pronounce Welsh names, will the right hon. Gentleman consider recommending Home Rule for Wales?

Would it be very difficult to publish complete lists in the OFFICIAL REPORT of all the coalfields, in view of the complaints we receive that certain mining villages are being left out altogether?

I will consider that.

asked the Minister of Food in what documents and announcements the functions and powers of the International Emergency Food Board may be ascertained.

I am sending the hon. Member a copy of a document setting out the functions, membership and procedure of the International Emergency Food Council. The document has been available in the Library of the House for the last two months.

Can the right hon. Gentleman tell the House whether that is the document referred to by his Parliamentary Secretary on 12th February, and, secondly, will he tell us why that document is not allowed to be seen by members of the public, and whether Members in this House would be committing any offence if they copied it and showed it to members of the public?

I imagine that no offence would be committed, but I must have notice of that question.