§ 22. Sir Edward Keelingasked the President of the Board of Trade what change there has been, since the matter was raised in the House of Commons in April, 1948, in the policy of restricting the importation of West African furniture.
§ Mr. MackesonUnder an open general licence issued with effect from 15th February, 1951, imports of furniture from a number of countries, including British West Africa, were freed from import licensing restrictions; the only stipulations are that the furniture must be complete, or, if unassembled, must consist of parts of furniture forming a complete article, and that the furniture must not be upholstered with fabric containing more than 5 per cent. of cashmere. Metal furniture of all kinds may also be imported from British West Africa under open general licence issued with effect from 5th October, 1949.
§ Sir E. KeelingIn view of the fact that the hon. Members who raised this matter in the House, and also the manufacturers of West African furniture, 2030 never learned of the change, as my hon. Friends knows, may I ask him whether, in future, he will try to make such changes known to those concerned?
§ Mr. MackesonYes, Sir. I hope to improve things.