§ 20. Sir Harold Webbeasked the President of the Board of Trade whether he will consider making a small supplementary allowance of coupons to bespoke tailors who are finding that the coupons they can demand from their customers for suits cut on utility lines are, on the average, insufficient to enable them to replace the materials used?
§ Mr. DaltonNo, Sir. The coupon pointing of suits has been calculated so as to provide full replacement of the material used.
§ Sir H. WebbeIs it not a fact that these coupon values were based on the practice and the possibility of large-scale factory production, and that, now that the present stocks are running out, if the coupon values are maintained the small bespoke tailors will be rapidly put out of business?
§ Mr. DaltonNo, Sir. There is a margin. The present coupon pointing for a man's suit, of coat, waistcoat and trousers, is 26, and we find that in a great many cases 24 coupons will cover it. The matter has to be averaged for different sizes. We have gone into it very carefully, and I am assured that there is no injustice to the section the hon. Gentleman mentions.