§ 76. Mr. W. THORNEasked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food whether the Food Controller, through the Ministry of Food, has taken tea from various growers and importers with the object of getting cheaper tea to the consumer; whether he is aware that this tea has been sold on account of the Ministry of Food to be retailed eventually at from 2s. 4d. to 3s. 8d. per lb.; and whether, if this tea had been left in the growers' and importers' hands and the Ministry of Food had not taken a large profit, this tea could have been purchased by the consumer at a very much lower price?
§ Mr. CLYNESThe answers to the first and second parts of the hon. Member's question are in the affirmative. In reply to the last part of the question, it is not the case that the tea if left in the growers' and importers' hands could have been purchased by the consumer at a lower price, nor is it the fact that the Ministry are making a profit in the sense indicated in the question.