§ 55. Sir W. Smithersasked the Minister of Food what was the cost to the taxpayer of printing pages in ration books for points, now rendered unnecessary by the ending of points rationing; and how many books were so printed.
§ Mr. WebbAbout £24,000 for 53 million books. As the printing of ration books has to begin about nine months before they are distributed, we clearly had to incur this expense. I am sure the bon. Member would not have wanted me to maintain points rationing merely because we had already printed the coupons.
§ Sir W. SmithersIs this not another instance of the waste of public money due to the operation of Socialist theories, which, however necessary in war-time, are absolutely unnecessary in peace-time?