§ 64. Mr. R. Gibson (for Mr. Parker)asked the Minister of Agriculture how many bacon factories there are at present; what their aggregate curing capacity is; and what proportions of this total fall into different classes according to throughput or capacity?
§ Captain Dugdale (Lord of the Treasury)I have been asked to reply. My right hon. Friend is informed by the Bacon Development Board that the number of curing premises licensed under the Bacon Industry Act, 1938, is 582. Precise information as to the aggregate curing capacity of these premises is not available, but it has been estimated to be in the neighbourhood of 4,000,000 pigs per annum. It is not possible to state what proportions of this aggregate capacity are accounted for by the different classes, but the numbers of premises in each class are as follow:
| Class A premises (premises on which, in any one of the years 1935, 1936 or 1937, more than 5,200 cwt. of bacon was produced) | 88 |
| Class B premises (other licensed premises, except small curers' premises) | 253 |
| Small curers' premises (maximum production, 60 cwt. in any four consecutive weeks) | 241 |
§ Mr. GibsonDo those figures apply only to England or to the whole of Great Britain?
§ Captain DugdaleI understand they apply to Great Britain.