§ 61. Mr. Cocksasked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food whether he is aware of the large proportion of fresh herring, sometimes amounting to one-third in weight, which have had to be destroyed recently, owing to delays in transit; that supplies from Stornoway, due at Glasgow on Friday, 30th May, did not arrive at Glasgow until 11 p.m. on the Saturday, when they were unusable; and whether, in view of the importance of making the most of home supplies, he will take steps to ensure more speedy deliveries of herring from the coast to inland markets?
Major Lloyd GeorgeI am unable to obtain any confirmation of my hon. Friend's suggestion that a substantial proportion of recent landings of herring has become unusable through delays in transport, and no case as mentioned by my hon. Friend has been brought to my notice in which the proportion is as high as one-third. In the instance to which he refers, the bulk of the fish was usable in spite of late arrival in Glasgow through abnormal circumstances, though one merchant who took a small quantity states that 20 per cent. of his purchases were unusable. I can assure my hon. Friend that all possible steps are taken to minimise delays in transporting this exceedingly perishable commodity.
§ Mr. CocksHas the hon. and gallant Gentleman seen the letter which I sent to him on the subject, in which it is alleged that one-third has been wasted in each case, and is he aware that another fish merchant has told me the same thing; and can he say whether the refrigerating vans for fresh fish traffic have been taken off the railways, and, if they have, is not that false economy?
Major Lloyd GeorgeThe particular case to which my hon. Friend refers is due to two causes. Usually these herring are kippered, and unfortunately there was a strike in the kippering industry which made it necessary to send a larger proportion as fresh herring, and that caused this particular difficulty. I do not think that it will occur again.
Mr. RobertsonHas the Minister taken into account the provision of cold storage at Stornoway? Would not that overcome the difficulty with regard to strikes and with regard to the sending of the fish in the latter part of the week, when they are bound to arrive late on Saturday, or even on Sunday, and go bad before there is an opportunity for sale?
Major Lloyd GeorgeI assure my hon. Friend that, as far as transport arrangements are concerned, if it were not for quite abnormal circumstances, there would be no need to worry. I will look into the cold storage question, but ordinarily a large part of that fish happens to be kippered.