§ 17. Mr. SUTTONasked the President of the Board of Trade whether his attention has been called to the action of members of the Master Bakers' Association throughout the country in advancing the price of bread from time to time and also in many instances reducing the weight of the loaf sold; whether he is aware that in many districts a number of people have been convicted for selling bread otherwise than by weight in accordance with the Bread Act of 1836; and whether he will take steps to have this Act put into operation so that the public may be made aware of the weight of the bread they purchase?
Mr. RUNCIMANI am aware that the price of bread has risen, or that, alternatively, the size of the loaf has been reduced. There have been recently, as my hon. Friend states, a number of convictions for contraventions of the Sale of Bread Act, 1836, and this seems to indicate that local authorities are alive to the importance of enforcing the provisions of that Act.
§ Mr. SUTTONWill the right hon. Gentleman inform the local authorities on this question, because the law in many places has practically become a dead letter?
Mr. RUNCIMANI will confer with the Local Government Board on the subject; they are in communication with the local authorities.