HC Deb 16 June 1938 vol 337 cc514-6

8.30 p.m.

Sir Waldron Smithers

I beg to move, in page 1, line 12, to leave out, "available for storing and."

I want to assure the President of the Board of Trade that I am not moving this Amendment in any hostile spirit. I agree entirely with the policy behind the Bill, but I have one or two criticisms to make of the methods to be employed. With your permission, Captain Bourne, I will say a few words about all my Amendments on Clause r, because they are consequential one on the other.

The Deputy-Chairman

If the hon. Member's Amendments to Clause r form one composite Amendment, it would be convenient if he dealt with them on this first Amendment.

Sir W. Smithers

The substance of my Amendments is in the second one, to insert in page r, line 13, a new Sub-section: The Board of Trade may by notice served upon any owner of storage accommodation suitable for the preservation and maintenance of an essential commodity require him to make periodical and other returns at such times and containing such particulars as may be specified in the notice as to the extent and nature of such storage accommodation and as to the prices usually charged for the use thereof, and shall maintain a register in which such particulars shall be entered. I wish to secure two objects—first, a collection of information from all sources concerning storage accommodation throughout the country; and, second, the maintenance of a register for that purpose. If it is the policy of the Government to store food, it is essential that the Government should have full knowledge of the details of all storage accommodation in the country. I have moved the Amendment really to draw attention to what I am told by people whom I know and can trust, who are interested in the business and who say that the present storage accommodation, especially in the big ports, is in a chaotic state, and that there is a great difference between the charges for storage in the ports and for storage in private warehouses.

If the Government have these particulars, all is well, but I would like to ask the President of the Board of Trade, in view of the recent purchases by the Government, who is storing those purchases? I do not press him to tell me if it is against the public interest. What is more important, what prices are being charged for the storage? Are the prices those charged by the port authorities or those charged by private warehouses? I know the Government's policy is to build up reserves of commodities, but I feel that by their methods the Government are preventing that policy being carried out. Traders know perfectly well that large arrivals are coming into the country in the next few weeks or months because of Government purchases, and they are, therefore, living from hand to mouth and carrying the minimum stocks. It would be much better to take governmental action to provide information as to what storage accommodation there is in the country and let the traders use that accommodation and carry the stocks. Thus the policy of the Government would be carried out, for, after all, the job of the Government is policy and not to go into business.

8.34 p.m.

The President of the Board of Trade (Mr. Oliver Stanley)

I appreciate my hon. Friend's remarks and I realise the spirit in which he moved this Amendment. I have been in correspondence with him and I know the points that he has in mind with regard to storage at the ports. I would point out to him, however, that that is not quite the point which is raised by this Amendment. Under this Clause as at present drafted the information which we are able to seek can be sought only from those who are concerned with the particular essential commodity information about which we require. If the Amendment were passed we should be in a position to serve notices, with all the penalties attached, upon anyone who has a little room in which wheat or sugar or some other essential commodity could be stored. That seems to be extending the scope of our inquiries far beyond any useful point and might possibly cause inconvenience to a large number of people without serving any useful purpose. After all, it is from those who are concerned that we want to know how much they have got and also what storage they have available. I do not want to go into the whole question of port storage, important as that is, because it is rather beyond the scope of the Bill. With regard to the commodities which we have already bought, no doubt during the Second Reading Debate the hon. Member heard an account of the methods that we are adopting and he will then realise that we have not so far made excessive use of port storage. I would ask him to believe, with reference to the question of wheat, that we are making use of the traders, that the accommodation is being provided by the traders, that we have assurances from them as to the maintenance of normal stocks, and that from any knowledge I possess I cannot think that the purchases of wheat have had the effect, as he says, of causing the trade to reduce its normal stocks.

Amendment negatived.