§ 50. Mr. J. H. Hareasked the Minister of Agriculture whether he will make feedingstuffs available to owners of less than one acre of land who were not registered in 1939, but who are anxious now to keep pigs or poultry.
§ Mr. G. BrownSuch people are already eligible for domestic pig and poultry rations, and also for bonus rations on deliveries of pig-meat and eggs. As my right hon. Friend mentioned in his statement on 16th March, the bonus ration will be increased from 1st May. Present and prospective supplies of 1361 feedingstuffs do not, I regret, permit commercial rations to be made available to producers of the kind mentioned.
§ Mr. HareDoes the hon. Gentleman not realise that the 1939 limitation is a severe deterrent to many thousands of smallholders all over the country? Does he not agree that he should reconsider this matter, because there would be a great increase both in pig and poultry produce if smallholders were allowed to keep stock of this sort?
§ Mr. BrownIt is precisely because we considered this matter that the scheme was introduced which, in certain cases, enables us to get away from the 1939 scheme. The hon. Member is now raising the question of producers owning less than an acre of land. For the reasons I gave in my answer, I regret that we cannot go any further in that matter.