§ 43. Mr. Cookasked the Minister of War Transport if he is aware that the railways have been closed to the seed potato traffic to England; that these seeds have been bagged and are now in danger of going bad; and if he will reopen the railways to this traffic.
§ 39. Mr. Henderson Stewartasked the Minister of War Transport if he is aware of the hold-up of rail transport for seed potatoes in central Scotland and the imminent danger on account of frost of the destruction of large quantities of seed ready and dressed for sending to England; and what steps he is taking in the matter.
§ Mr. BarnesI regret that, owing to the illness of certain persons, I am not able to answer this Question at the moment.
§ Mr. CookIs not the Minister aware of the serious position created by this closing of the railways to the seed potato traffic?
§ Sir W. DarlingIs the Minister aware that the Scottish railway companies are refusing to accept any perishable goods for three weeks?
§ Mr. BarnesDoes this refer to the answer on seed potatoes?
§ Sir William DarlingYes.
§ Mr. BarnesI must apologise because I have not got the reply in my folder. If it causes inconvenience to the House, I must express my regret, but it is not here, and, at the moment, I cannot answer the question.
§ Mr. NicholsonIs the Minister not aware that this is not a question—
§ Mr. BarnesI will undertake to send the reply to the hon. Members who put down the Questions. In the meantime, I must ask leave to express my apologies.
§ Later—
§ Mr. BarnesI have found the answer to Question 43, which was with a previous Question that was not called, and, with your permission, Mr. Speaker, I will read it. I hope the House will not hold against me my ingenuity in trying to get out of a temporary difficulty. I regret that owing to congestion caused by fog and heavy traffic it was necessary temporarily to stop the acceptance of traffic, including seed potatoes, at stations in Scotland for conveyance by the L.N.E.R. route to England. Both the railway companies and my Department are very conscious of the importance of ensuring that seed potatoes are moved, and the traffic receives a high priority. I am glad to say that it was possible to resume acceptance of seed potatoes on Thursday, 22nd November, and providing the better weather conditions continue I hope that regular movement will be maintained.
§ Mr. CookWill the Minister take care, when events like this occur, to put coastal shipping facilities at the disposal of the potato growers?
§ Mr. NicholsonWill the right hon. Gentleman ask his colleague the Minister of Agriculture whether it is not a fact that a great deal of the Scottish seed was bad last year and ruined the English crop, and will he do his best to see that it does not happen again?
§ Mr. BarnesWith regard to the first supplementary question, already a large consignment of these seed potatoes has been moved by coastwise shipping—quite a considerable quantity. It is impossible to deal with an emergency matter of this description by that arrangement. In reply to the second supplementary question, the Ministry of Food and my Department have tackled this problem early for the purpose of spreading deliveries over a longer period this year.