§ 55. Mr. De CHAIRasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he can devise some method whereby Parliament may be allowed to pass judgment upon the findings of the Import Duties Advisory Committee where that committee rejects an application for a duty, as in the case of the barley industry, since the growers are at present denied the right of appeal to Parliament if the Import Duties Advisory Committee rejects their application?
Mr. CHAMBERLAINI do not think that it would be desirable to depart from the principle laid down by Parliament 612 in the Import Duties Act, 1932, that proposals for an increase in duty under that Act should only come before the House when the Committee find that a case has been made out.
§ Mr. De CHAIRIs the right hon. Gentleman aware of the extreme difficulty in which Members are placed who pledged themselves at the Election to support agriculture?
§ 59. Mr. De CHAIRasked the Minister of Agriculture how soon he anticipates any cash improvement in barley prices as a result of the proposals which the Import Duties Advisory Committee put forward as an alternative to a duty on imported barley?
§ The MINISTER of AGRICULTURE (Mr. Elliot)I could not, of course, anticipate the future course of prices, but the arrangements recently made under the auspices of the Import Duties Advisory Committee provide barley growers in this country with a firm minimum demand from the brewing and distilling industries, and this should have the effect of strengthening the position of growers as sellers.
§ Mr. De CHAIRDoes not the right hon. Gentleman realise that it is not a minimum demand that the barley growers want but a maximum, and that growers are faced with ruin?