asked the Minister of Food why the movement of carrots between Yorkshire and Lancashire has been prohibited; to what extent the current domestic crop is likely to satisfy demand; and how many tons of Danish carrots have been imported in the last six months.

Home supplies are lower this year than normal and my right hon. Friend has therefore arranged for the importation of 10,000 tons from Denmark. Danish carrots, of which about 800 tons have so far been imported, are being marketed in Lancashire and in other Northern Counties. The local demand is being met in this way and we are able to conserve our own supplies for the time being.

Does the hon. Lady realise that the public would rather have Danish butter than Danish carrots?

asked the Minister of Food if his attention has been called to the difficulty that hospitals and infirmaries are experiencing in Scotland in providing a necessary and varied diet to patients; and if he will exempt these institutions from pointage on oatmeal and potatoes.

Patients in hospitals and infirmaries in Scotland, as in England and Wales, get the same rations as they do at home. They may also get extra allowances when these are recommended by our medical advisers as necessary for the treatment of certain diseases. I greatly regret that the supply position does not permit me to do more.

asked the Minister of Food what was the profit per lb. made by the Ministry in the recent sales of edible nuts; and what percentage of profit does this represent on the cost price.

The profit per lb. was about 3s. 2d. which, based on ex-warehouse cost, was about 237 per cent.

Will the Minister agree that if the Association which normally handles these nuts had made that profit it would have been railed at and considered excessive?

Could the Minister say what the average price of these sales to the retailer was, and how it compares with the price of 10s. per lb. at which the nuts are selling in my constituency?

They have not been sold for a long time. We had not enough to sell last Christmas.

Does this mean that the Socialist Party is now convinced of the rightness of the profit motive?

Will the hon. Lady say why nuts imported in June, 1946, were not sold last Christmas?

Some were.

asked the Minister of Food what steps he is taking, to increase the supply of fishmeal for feeding to pigs and poultry; and the prospective supplies for 1948 compared with 1938.

Our supplies of fishmeal, which are mainly home produced, depend largely on the size of the fishing catch. During the war they fell to one-third of our prewar quantities. For 1948 it is estimated that we shall have three-quarters of the supplies available in 1938. We shall buy all we can obtain from foreign supplies, the main source being Iceland.

We all agree that nature has something to do with this; but is the Minister of Food making proper provision for surplus fish, such as herring, which are not required immediately for human consumption, to be taken up and made into these valuable foodstuffs for pigs and poultry?

We are prepared to take any herring from the fishermen at 30s. a cran.

asked the Minister of Food what export target he has set for his Ministry; to which countries food is being sent; and if he will show the varieties, quantities and values of these foods.

The export target for the food and drink industries as announced by my right hon. and learned Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer on 13th September, 1947, is £5,500,000 monthly by the end of 1948. The principal commodities are whisky, gin, beer, refined sugar and processed foodstuffs which have a high conversion value. Manufacturers are being urged to direct these exports, wherever possible, to hard currency countries.

Can the hon. Lady give an assurance that no oatmeal or oat products will be exported while oatmeal remains at four points a pound in this country?

I think I can, Sir.

What proportion of the £5,500,000 is attributable to food as distinct from drink?

I would have to have notice of that Question.

asked the Minister of Food what was the value of foodstuffs exported during the last three months, for which particulars are available, to dollar countries, non-dollar countries and the sterling area, respectively.

In the three months August to October, the latest period for which figures are available, the value of exports of foodstuffs, produced or processed in the United Kingdom was as follows: dollar countries, £3,562,000; non-dollar countries excluding the sterling area, £3,669,000; sterling area, £4,822,000.

Does not the hon. Lady agree that that is rather a large proportion for the non-dollar countries, and that our main object in exporting food, obviously, should be to get dollars?

I cannot agree with the right hon. and learned Gentleman. He must realise that we are under obligation to export some of this food to our Colonies.

Certainly.

Of course, a great deal of that is contained in these figures.

asked the Minister of Food whether dried bananas are on sale anywhere in Britain; and if he will consider making these available in larger quantities to housewives in Scotland.

My Department does not undertake the distribution of dried bananas. Supplies are imported on private account, under licence, and distributed to the health food stores.

asked the Minister of Food what percentage of whale-meat is now contained in the average sausage.

None, Sir.

Is the hon. Lady aware that I have seen a factory where some is incorporated in sausages, and will she inquire into that?

I think the hon. Gentleman should have asked. "What is an average sausage?"

What is it?

An average sausage is 50 per cent. meat. If whalemeat is incorporated alone, it would then be called a whalemeat sausage.

asked the Minister of Food what foods and feedingstuffs are now allocated by the International Emergency Food Council; what food and feedingstuffs are now the subject of recommendations by that body; and what allocations and recommendations have been published during the last twelve months.

The I.E.F.C. makes recommendations to Governments regarding the allocation of bread grains, rice, dried peas and beans, cocoa beans, oils and fats, meat, oil cakes, and molasses. It has made recommendations regarding sugar up to the end of 1947. It is the Governments of the exporting countries which allocate the supplies they have available. Information has been published on behalf of the I.E.F.C. from time to time during 1947 as to recommendations about rice, peas and beans, cocoa beans, sugar, molasses, meat, and oils and fats.

Could the hon. Lady say where this information is available to hon. Members; also can she say whether the I.E.F.C. makes recommendations regarding supplies from the Argentine?

The I.E.F.C. relays this information. If the Press do not think that it is very interesting, it may be difficult to find.

May I have an answer to the second part of my question—whether the Argentine accepts recommendations from the I.E.F.C.?

No, Sir.

Is the Argentine a member of this Council?

I should amplify my answer. Hon. Gentlemen must remember that the I.E.F.C. can only make recommendations. The exporting countries make the allocations. If the exporting country does not agree with the recommendation, it will not make the allocation.

Would the hon. Lady place in the Library a note of the particulars of allocations and recommendations, because it is not satisfactory for hon. Members of this House to have to depend on scraps in the Press.

The right hon. and learned Gentleman must realise that we may have the recommendations but we cannot possibly have in our possession details of the allocations to foreign countries.

Could we be given the details which the Ministry have got?

Would the hon. Lady consider publishing, in the space reserved for "Food Facts" in the Press, the allocations made by the I.E.F.C.?

I will consider it, but I do not think that the general public are interested.

asked the Minister of Food if he will consider allowing local Territorial Army formations to hold annual dinners with numbers in excess of 100 in order to encourage recruiting.

No, Sir. To do so at the present time would be contrary to the Government's policy which I explained in detail during the Debate in the House on Thursday, 27th November.

Would the hon. Lady say why soldiers and ex-soldiers are denied this privilege which is given to aged miners and old age pensioners?

I think I explained in the Debate why that was so.

No.

asked the Minister of Food whether the estimates of total requirements and import requirements of food for the United Kingdom for the years 1947–48 to 1950–51, contained in the Stationery Office publication, Committee of European Economic Co-operation, Volume II, have his approval.

The figures to which the right hon. and learned Member refers were prepared in July last and were approved as the best estimates that could be prepared in the light of the information then available.

Does the hon. Lady consider that they are satisfactory and that they will afford us a sufficient quantity if the estimates are fulfilled?

We hope so.

asked the Minister of Food what inspection was made prior to shipment in s.s. "Novelist" of the consignment of tinned snoek at present en route to this country; whether he is aware that this consignment is known to be of low quality; and, in view of the importance of establishing public confidence in this South African product, whether he will arrange for special inspection before this consignment is distributed to the public.

I understand that inspection takes place in South Africa on behalf of the South African Canners' Council, but, of course, the Ministry's contract, which is on C.I.F. terms, provides for inspection in this country, and the goods shipped on s.s. "Novelist" will be examined by the Ministry's inspectors as part of the usual routine.

In view of the public statement made by responsible officials in South Africa and statements in the South African Press, will the Parliamentary Secretary give particular and extra scrutiny to this consignment?

Yes, certainly. I would not like the public to think that some of this fish is not of excellent quality. Some has been sent salted, and I agree that some was a little tough. I assure the hon. Gentleman that we shall inspect it carefully.

asked the Minister of Food what quantities of rationed raw materials have been granted against permits during each of the last seven years to each of the following categories of catering establishments: commercial catering establishments, works canteens and hostels, school feeding centres, civic restaurants and staff dining rooms, showing the amount, separately, for quantities issued to new licensees in each year in each category.

I regret that information for the separate categories is not available for the years 1940–45, nor for any year in respect of quantities issued to new licensees. As the answer for the years 1946 and 1947 is rather detailed I will, with permission, circulate it in the OFFICIAL REPORT.

asked the Minister of Food why the Bristol area is only now about to receive its tenth allocation of oranges while most of the country have already received twelve; and if he will take steps to see that Bristol is equally treated.

I would refer my hon. Friend to the reply given to the hon. Member for Weston-super-Mare (Mr. Orr-Ewing) on 15th December. Bristol is receiving exactly the same treatment as similar areas.

Is the hon. Lady aware that I received this information from a very reliable source in Bristol and that, when I received it, I put down a Question in order to confirm it?

My hon. Friend will remember that my right hon. Friend announced in the House that counties in the North of England were to have special consideration as a compensation for the small amount they receive from home produce. It is quite right that some places may only have received the eleventh allocation whilst perhaps the Northern counties have received their thirteenth allocation.