§ 26. Mr. Niall Macphersonasked the President of the Board of Trade what restrictions at present exist on the manufacture of ties in club, school, college, university, etc., colours; and whether he will now relax those restrictions.
§ Mr. H. WilsonThere are no such restrictions.
§ Mr. MacphersonIs it not a fact that 75 per cent. of all ties have to be exported and, that being the case, is it not clear that there is no inducement to manufacturers to manufacture club ties?
§ Mr. WilsonThe Question related to restrictions. There are no such restrictions, though with the general shortage of home market cloth there may be a tendency for weavers to avoid patterns which entail short runs in production.
§ Mr. MikardoIs my right hon. Friend aware that it is now very difficult to buy a tie in a good, bright, pillar-box red and will he take some action to deal with that problem?
§ Mr. MacphersonWill the right hon. Gentleman look into this matter again, because all of us need to buy a tie from time to time? Surely, we ought to be able to buy a tie in the colours of the club or school to which we belong?
§ Mr. WilsonI have already said that there are no restrictions. This is a question for the manufacturers. It must be for them to judge what the demand is and to try to meet it as they see fit.