HC Deb 07 March 1946 vol 420 cc497-502
50. Mr. Michael Foot

asked the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what imports of wheat and other foods are likely to be made into the British zone in Germany in the next few months; and whether he estimates that further cuts in rations in this zone are likely to be imposed.

Mr. J. Hynd

The allocation of the world's grain supplies is about to be reviewed in Washington. There are many claimants, and until the results of the conversations in Washington are known I am not in a position to say what amounts will be available for the British zone of Germany or whether further ration cuts will be necessary.

Mr. Foot

Can the hon. Gentleman confirm the statements which appear to have come from the British headquarters in Berlin that there is likely to be another cut after 20th March, reducing the number of calories provided for the German people in the British zone to less than 500? Can he also confirm the statement in the Press this morning attributed to Field-Marshal Montgomery, that this will now reduce the standard of diet for people in the British zone to less than that provided for the inmates of Belsen concentration camp?

Mr. Hynd

I am not aware of the exact statements to which the hon. Member refers. I can only assume that these would be based upon what the position would be if no further imports were forthcoming, but there is a further Question on this subject on the Order Paper.

Mr. Skeffington-Lodge

Is my hon. Friend aware that if any part of the geographical centre of Europe is allowed . to lapse into a state of chaos, moral or spiritual, the clock of civilisation throughout the whole continent of Europe will be put back for years?

Mr. Hynd

The recognition of these facts is precisely one of the main reasons for our present occupation of Germany.

Mr. Stokes

Is my hon. Friend aware that the reduced ration will mean that these people will have to live on a couple of slices of bread and margarine and a spoonful of oatmeal per day, and will he bear that fact in mind in resisting any further efforts to reduce the ration?

Mr. Hynd

Whatever the result, the ration must bear relation to the amount of food available.

Sir Stanley Reed

Is the hon. Gentleman aware that in India the ration has been cut down to 12 ounces per day, and that no other sources of food are available or suitable to the people of that country?

Mr. Hynd

That is rather outside the scope of my Department. I do not think the latter part of the question is entirely correct.

51. Mr. Foot

asked the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster whether he has any statistics showing the degree to which the British zone in Germany was self-supporting in food supplies before 1932; and to what extent food was imported into the area now described as the British zone from the area comprised by the Soviet zone, the United States zone and the eastern territory of pre-war Germanyceded to Poland and the U.S.S.R.

Mr. J. Hynd

The population of the British zone is preponderantly urban, and before the war this area was deficient in food supplies to about 50 per cent. Grain and potatoes were largely drawn from eastern Germany. In reply to the second part of the Question, I regret that statistics are not available as the present zones of occupation did not constitute recognised political or economic units in prewar Germany.

Mr. Foot

Can the hon. Gentleman say whether any approach has been made to the Soviet Government for the purpose of rectifying this injustice which the British zone has to bear in feeding a population which previously could not feed itself, and can he also confirm the statement that food is being sent from the British zone to Berlin to feed the people there?

Mr. Hynd

The feeding of Berlin is on a pooling basis, and we have to make our contribution so far as that city is concerned. In regard to the other part of the question, that will be answered with another Question.

Mr. Stokes

Can my hon. Friend tell the House what effect the increased population in the British zone, due to forcible expulsion, has had on the necessity for importing food into that zone in order to feed the people there?

Mr. Hynd

Up to the moment, practically none, because the transfer of population under the agreed scheme from Poland into the British zone has only begun in very small numbers and has not yet shown any effect.

52. Mr. Foot

asked the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what scale of imports was necessary to hold the rations in the British zone in Germany at the level prevailing before the recent cuts; and when the decision to make the cuts was reached.

Mr. J. Hynd

To maintain distribution on the basis of the previous 1,550 calories ration from 1st January to 30th June, 1946, indigenous resources of the British zone would require to be supplemented by imports of about 1,500,000 tons of wheat. During February it became clear that wheat imports on this scale would no longer be available and, since German indigenous resources are only sufficient to provide about 400 calories, it was decided during the last week in February that an immediate cut in the existing ration scale was inevitable.

Mr. Foot

Could my hon. Friend say who makes these decisions about the cuts? Is it a decision made by, the British Government, or is it reached partly in conjunction with other members of the Combined Food Board? How was the decision reached to make the cut? Was it a British decision or was it reached in conjunction with other nations?

Mr. Hynd

No, Sir. The decision with regard to the British zone was a unilateral one, and it was made on my own responsibility.

Mr. Skeffington-Lodge

Is my hon. Friend aware that thousands of people in this country are seriously disturbed to think that their fellow human beings in Germany are getting into a state of distress because of shortage of food, and they would gladly welcome further sacrifices in order to help these people?

Mr. Stokes

Do my hon. Friend's figures mean that two thirds of the intended ration—that is, one thousand calories a day, on his figures—have to be imported from outside; and may I ask him whether more than that amount did not normally come from the zone now occupied by the Russians?

Mr. Hynd

As I stated earlier, it is impossible to assess the exact amount that came into our zone from what is now the Russian zone in Germany, and the amount that came from other sources, but the total imports of food into our zone from all sources were about 50 per cent. of those before the war.

Mr. Foot

Reverting to the hon. Gentleman's original reply, while appreciating his great difficulties in having to impose these cuts, may I ask if he does not think that this is a matter which should be discussed by the Combined Food Board, if the Combined Food Board means anything at all? These matters should be decided by all the nations, and should not be left to the British Government to settle by itself.

Mr. Hynd

I said that the cuts had been made on my own responsibility, but the allocations of wheat to Germany, India and other claimants are made by the Combined Food Board, who are at present being asked to consider the general situation and to make the best possible allocations among the various claimants.

54. Mr. Skeffington-Lodge

asked the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster whether any arrangements will be made to improve the food position in the British zone of Germany by securing help from the Low Countries and from Denmark.

Mr. J. Hynd

Full use is already being made of any surplus foodstuffs which become available in the Low Countries and Denmark after the needs of the United Kingdom and the liberated countries have been met. The ultimate surpluses available in this way are, however, very small.

55. Mr. Skeffington-Lodge

asked the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster whether he has any statement to make about the development of a unified policy for feeding Germany.

Mr. J. Hynd

The food situation in Germany has been discussed by the Allied Control Council in Berlin. Our representative expressed his readiness to participate in arrangements for pooling resources and establishing a common ration throughout Germany. It is not, however, to be expected that even if our Allies were agree able, the immediate situation could be appreciably relieved merely by redistribution. The stocks in all four zones are low and, in any event, it is not likely that the available means of transport would enable inter-zonal transfers to be made on a considerable scale. We are, however, pursuing this and every other possibility of ameliorating the position.

Mr. Skeffington-Lodge

Could the hon. Gentleman say whether it would not be a very good idea if the influx of new personnel into the British zone could be suspended temporarily in order to relieve the difficulties of the food position in that zone?

Mr. Hynd

The influx to which my hon. Friend presumably refers is a transfer from Poland. That was agreed by the British Control authorities together with the other parties on the Control Council. That could only be altered in any way by a four-party agreement.

Mr. Stokes

Might not this position be relieved immediately very considerably by reducing our own reserves by about 1,200,000 tons, which would leave us with double the reserves we had before the war started?

Mr. Hynd

I am afraid my responsibility begins at the resources that are made available and I have to make the best possible use of them.