HC Deb 06 June 1944 vol 400 cc1198-9
64. Mr Loverseed

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he will grant a licence to trade in second-hand furniture to Mr. C. E. Green, a disabled ex-Service man, in a district of which he has been informed, and in which he was making a reasonable living before being refused a licence.

Mr. Dalton

As I have previously stated, licences under the Location of Retail Businesses Order are granted as a matter of course to invalided ex-Service- men who wish to re-establish themselves in their former businesses. In accordance with this undertaking, Mr. Green was granted a licence to trade in second-hand furniture in New Malden where he stated he had been engaged in business before joining H.M. Forces. I am informed that the number of shops dealing in secondhand furniture at Wimbledon, where Mr. Green wishes to open, is already more than adequate to meet the demand, and it is on these grounds that I have accepted the recommendation of the local retail licensing committee on the subject.

Mr. Loverseed

Would the right hon. Gentleman not agree that the question of public need arises in this way, that as Mr. Green was unable to get a living in New Malden where there was not an opening for a second-hand shop—

Mr. Speaker

The hon. Member is asking for an opinion, and not for a statement of fact.