HC Deb 14 March 1944 vol 398 cc21-2
34. Mr. Keeling

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether, in the Footwear Manufacture Directions, 1944, the substitution of "more" for "less," made by No. 178, of Statutory Rules and Orders, is a change of policy or the correction of an error.

Mr. Dalton

The latter, Sir.

Mr. Keeling

Does not the right hon. Gentleman think that an Order which appears to make a drastic, and, indeed, a revolutionary change, ought to be accompanied by an Explanatory Memorandum, as recommended by the Committee on Ministers' Powers?

Mr. Dalton

Even the best proofreaders sometimes nod. The point has been met, I think, by my answer to my hon. Friend. It is a very simple matter. If necessary, I shall be glad to issue a further Explanatory Memorandum; but I do not think that that will be required.

Captain Strickland

Does the right hon. Gentleman not realise the difficulty in which it places a manufacturer who is told that he must not make the heel of a lady's shoe of less than a certain height, and is then told some weeks afterwards that the word "less" should have been "more"?

Mr. Dalton

I have tried to remove the unfortunate misunderstanding, which otherwise would have arisen, by the answer which I have given to-day.