§ 61. Mr. Niall Macphersonasked the Minister of Food whether he is aware of the inconvenience caused to persons who board on bed and breakfast terms and have to surrender their ration books to their landlords or landladies; and whether he will now consider some arrangement which would permit them to buy a part of their rations for consumption at meals other than breakfast and so avoid continual expenditure in restaurants which they cannot afford.
§ Mr. WebbThe formal obligation to surrender ration books only applies to residents who stay five or more consecutive nights in licensed catering establishments. In all other cases the use of rations is a matter for private arrangement.
§ Mr. MacphersonDoes not the right hon. Gentleman realise that that is exactly where the difficulty arises—that people who have to stay for a considerable time on board and lodging terms have to surrender the whole of their rations, and are therefore unable to buy anything for themselves?
§ Mr. WebbOn the whole I should think that the present arrangement is a fair one. If there is some difficulty about it perhaps we could talk about it, to see if there is a way of getting round it.