§ 56. Mr. Liddallasked the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster whether he is now in a position to make a statement in regard to future supplies of raw meats to small manufacturers, butchers and confectioners, who are not registered?
§ Mr. W. S. MorrisonMy hon. Friend will appreciate the difficulty of making arrangements to allocate supplies to all firms who may claim to be manufacturers of meat products. For this reason it has been decided to restrict supplies provisionally to premises which are registered under the Factory Act, 1937, but where this restriction would mean genuine hardship consideration will be given to an application from an unregistered firm.
§ Mr. LiddallIs the right hon. Gentleman aware that only those people can register under the Workshops and Factories Act if they have machinery operating continuously for six hours per week? Is he also aware that 90 per cent. of the small traders, the butchers and confectioners, in my constituency have not such machinery? Their customers look to them to supply them with sausages at the week-end, and they cannot do that unless the right hon. Gentleman makes 334 it possible for them to have supplies of raw meat?
§ Mr. MorrisonThe answer is that we are trying to meet the case of the small manufacturers to whom the hon. Member refers. A man is required in practice to register under the Factory Act when his machinery runs for at least six hours a week. We had to draw the line somewhere, but special cases of hardship will be given consideration.
§ Mr. LiddallWill the right hon. Gentleman consider when they have not this machinery to run one hour per day, the case of hand machinery?
§ Mr. MorrisonI will consider that.