HC Deb 20 March 1940 vol 358 cc1975-6
44. Mr. Benson

asked the Minister of Supply whether he will give a list of the larger municipalities which have not yet made adequate provision for the reclaiming of waste?

Mr. Burgin

I have interpreted the hon. Member's inquiry as relating to county and municipal boroughs in Great Britain with over 100,000 inhabitants, other than London. According to the information at my disposal I should judge that most needs to be done in the following boroughs:

Coventry. South Shields.
Gateshead. Stockport.
Heston and Isleworth. Sunderland.
Swansea.
Huddersfield. Walsall.
Liverpool. West Ham.
Reading. Willesden.
St. Helens. Wolverhampton.
Salford. York.

Some of the authorities included in the list, as well as other authorities not included, are already taking steps to improve their salvage returns, and I trust that the authorities themselves, backed by local public opinion in the areas, will show a steadily increasing sense of the essential importance of salvage, especially in time of war, and will rapidly improve their arrangements.

Mr. Benson

May I ask the Minister to pillory those local authorities which are recalcitrant, through the Ministry of Information or the British Broadcasting Corporation?

Sir Joseph Lamb

Are there any facilities for local authorities to obtain the necessary machinery for drying the food which is salvaged in order to be able to distribute it over a wider area?

Mr. Burgin

That matter has been dealt with quite recently in Question and Answer. I understand that the Minister of Health will in proper cases sanction a loan for the purchase of the machinery in question.

Mr. Leach

Is the Minister aware that most of the authorities which are backward in this matter are Tory in administration?

Sir Frank Sanderson

Is my right hon. Friend aware that Ealing has the most' modern and up-to-date plant for reclaiming waste and that they have set an example which should be copied by the rest of the country, and would my right hon. Friend care to visit it some time?