§ 53. Mr. Keelingasked the Minister of Food what profit or loss was made by the canteen at his office in Portman Square in each year before it was handed over to private enterprise.
§ Mr. WebbThis refreshment club, which was a staff organisation managed by its members, was closed down in 1949, when another canteen became available in the neighbourhood. I understand that during the nine years of its operation the canteen made a profit overall; with permission I will circulate the figures year by year in the OFFICIAL REPORT.
§ Mr. KeelingAs the canteen was handed over to private enterprise in spite of having made a profit, may we take it that the rent obtained from private enterprise exceeded the profit?
§ Mr. WebbI should have thought that the management of a club by its members was in itself an act of private enterprise. It was their own club; they managed it at a profit. I cannot say without notice whether the rent of the building was taken into account.
§ Following is the statement:
§ The profit or loss made by the canteen in Portman Court in each year before it was closed was as follows:
| £ | |||
| 1942 (Profit) | … | … | 95 |
| 1943 (Profit) | … | … | 476 |
| 1944 (Profit) | … | … | 626 |
| 1945 (Profit) | … | … | 248 |
| 1946 (Profit) | … | … | 618 |
| 1947 (Profit) | … | … | 554 |
| 1948 (Loss) | … | … | 1,858 |
| 1949 (Loss) | … | … | 423 |