§ 59. Mr. Thorneasked the Minister of Health how he intends to advise the Bethnal Green Borough Council, the Hertfordshire County Council, the Middlesex County Council, and other local authorities in connection with tenders when all the tenders are exactly the same in amount?
§ Mr. BernaysEach case of this kind brought to the notice of my right hon. Friend is considered from the point of view of the reasonableness of the tender prices. In the three cases mentioned, the prices quoted were not regarded as unreasonable either by the local authorities concerned or by my right hon. Friend, who saw no grounds for dissenting from the local authorities' proposals to accept them.
§ Mr. ThorneIt is not a question of a reasonable price. It is a question of similar tenders for a particular job. Does not that prove the existence of a ring?
§ Mr. BernaysI cannot accept the hon. Member's suggestion. The point is whether these tenders were or were not reasonable. They were carefully examined by the experts of the local authorities and by the experts of the Ministry of Health, and they both came to the decision that no objection should be taken to them.
§ Mr. Herbert MorrisonAre we to take it from the hon. Member's reply that the Government have completely given up all hope of preserving the capitalist competitive system?
§ Sir Percy HarrisIs not this a ring? Does it not suggest, when exactly the same prices are quoted, that it is a conspiracy against the consumer, and will not the hon. Member bring the matter to the attention of the Chancellor of the Exchequer to remove the protection this industry gets which enables them to form a combine?
§ Mr. BernaysI have nothing to add to the answer I have given, but I can assure the hon. Member that the matter is being closely watched.
§ Mr. A. V. AlexanderAre we to understand that the Parliamentary Secretary has now finally shed all the Liberalism he ever had?