§ 10. Miss Burtonasked the Minister of Food when he expects to receive the report from the White Fish Authority concerning the cost of fish distribution.
§ Major Lloyd GeorgeI understand that it will take the Authority some months to complete its investigations.
§ Miss BurtonThat is bad luck for the housewives. Is the right hon. and gallant Gentleman aware that the consumers want an inquiry into the actual distribution and not only into the cost? Is he aware that in a small town like Grimsby, for example, telegraphing costs almost as much as in a town like Manchester, and that many of the big firms spend between £250 and £300 a week on telegrams, which adds to the cost of inflation? Does the right hon. and gallant Gentleman not think that that should be taken into account?
§ Major Lloyd GeorgeThe cost of telegraphing is an important part in the sale of the fish, and becomes a very big item, as I know from the case of other towns with which I am acquainted. As regards distribution, the White Fish Authority is now looking into cost, which is important in distribution.
§ Miss BurtonIs the right hon. and gallant Gentleman really telling the women of this country that it is necessary to spend £300 a week on telegrams to find out if they want fish?
§ Major Lloyd GeorgeI think that is one of the things being investigated. I think the hon. Lady will find, when the investigation is published, that it is not quite so simple as she makes it out to be.
§ Mr. Hector HughesIs the right hon and gallant Gentleman aware that the White Fish Authority was set up to bring, quickly and effectively, order out of chaos in the white fish industry, and that there has been undue delay? What is he doing in the meantime to protect the fishermen and consumers of fish in this country?
§ Major Lloyd GeorgeThe hon. and learned Gentleman will appreciate that a complete knowledge of the facts is an important prerequisite before action is taken, and it is the facts that the White Fish Authority is engaged on ascertaining at the moment.
§ 35. Miss Burtonasked the Minister of Food whether he is aware that in Grimsby and Hull the number of port wholesalers is in the region of 1,000; and, as this adds considerably to the cost of fish 1842 in the shops, if the Government will take steps to introduce a minimum price at the ports and a maximum one at the shops between which the wholesalers, inland markets and retailers would need to operate.
§ Major Lloyd GeorgeThe costs of distribution of fish are among the matters under examination by the White Fish Authority. The disadvantages and difficulties of price control on fish are a matter of hard experience, as the late Government no doubt discovered before they removed it.
§ Miss BurtonIs the right hon. and gallant Gentleman aware that the large number of wholesalers in most distributive trades influences the cost, and is he further aware that in my city of Coventry skilled workers are declared redundant? Is there any reason why surplus wholesalers should not also be declared redundant?
§ Major Lloyd GeorgeAs the hon. Lady was told earlier on in Question time, this matter is now being investigated. It is quite useless to try to take action until we know the results of the investigation.