§ 18. Mr. Granvilleasked the President of the Board of Trade whether he will consider increasing the number of coupons made available to bombed-out families to enable them to purchase curtains for one living room and one upstairs room, in order to save artificial light and black-out material?
§ Mr. DaltonNo, Sir. No curtain material, other than black-out cloth, is now being made. Black-out cloth is not rationed. As regards rationed materials, most of which needs black-out backing in any case, the fairest plan is that which I have adopted, namely, to confine coupon-free purchase of curtain material to one living room, so that as many bombed out families as possible may have a share: of the limited stocks which remain.
§ Mr. GranvilleWill the right hon. Gentleman put himself into the position of one of these unfortunate families having to live in an upstairs room without proper curtain material; and has he fully considered the possibility of still further reducing the production of luxury material in this country in order to have something like equality of sacrifice?
§ Mr. DaltonI have gone a great distance, so great as to provoke protests in some quarters from manufacturers of luxury material. If the hon. Member cares to assist me in more detail I shall be very glad. I am aiming at giving the fairest distribution among bombed-out families of the limited stocks which remain.