44. Mr. De la Bèreasked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food whether, in connection with maize and barley held for emergency in county warehouses, which are usually held by selected merchants for purpose of preventing pedigree stock having to be slaughtered through shortage of food, he will make some statement as to what demand pedigree stock owners have made upon these sources of supply?
§ The Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food (Mr. Lennox-Boyd)Out of the 5,400 tons of maize and barley placed in the county emergency reserves in England and Wales from the middle of February to the middle of March the quantity released up to the end of March amounted to about 950 tons. Issues from the reserves are made only in cases of genuine hardship, but they are not confined to pedigree stock owners.