Brislings (Hansard, 18 September 1950)

§ 6. Commander Noble
asked the Minister of Food what was the cost of his advertising campaign to sell brislings; and what stocks now remain.

§ Mr. Webb
About £10,000. I do not think it would be in the public interest to disclose the stocks my Department holds.

§ Commander Noble
Is the Minister aware that his Parliamentary Secretary told me by letter that the object of this advertising was so that the trade could be returned to private business as soon as possible? Will he give an assurance that he will carry out that policy on every possible occasion?

§ Mr. Webb
That may have been one part of the letter sent by the Parliamentary Secretary, but there were others, too. It is our desire in the case of all commodities of this kind, where supplies are adequate, to return them to private trade.

§ Mr. R. S. Hudson
Are we to assume from the answer that the advertising has been useless, because the Minister has still got his original stocks of brislings?

§ Mr. Webb
On the contrary, the advertising has been very valuable to us and the private trade, so much so that I have had one letter from a firm of canners in the private trade who have taken the trouble to say that they hope we will continue the advertising.

§ Mr. D. Marshall
Would it not be better to advertise the high nutritive value and good quality of the Cornish pilchard?