§ 21. Miss Burtonasked the Minister of Food if he is now in a position to make a statement on the system of distribution following the de-control of egg rationing; and, if not, when he will be able to do so.
§ 23. Lieut.-Colonel Liptonasked the Minister of Food on what date eggs will be derationed.
§ Major Lloyd GeorgeThe new arrangements will come into force on the 26th March. As the detailed statement of these arrangements is necessarily rather long I am circulating it in the OFFICIAL REPORT in a written answer to a Question by my hon. Friend the Member for Kidderminster (Mr. Nabarro).
§ Miss BurtonIs the right hon. and gallant Gentleman satisfied that, contrary to the policy of this Government, eggs will now be accessible from the point of view of price to every section of the community?
§ Major Lloyd George: Thepurpose of this de-control is to try to get eggs into the shops, which has been quite impossible for the last seven or eight years.
§ Lieut.-Colonel LiptonAre these arrangements going to produce one more egg?
§ Major Lloyd GeorgeI think that is a gross understatement by the hon. and gallant Gentleman.
§ Mr. WebbMay I ask the Minister whether, in view of his decision, he has considered the anxieties of the National Farmers' Union about the breakdown of the orderly marketing of eggs, and whether his scheme, temporary or long-term, will in fact, as the National Farmers' Union require, involve the sending of eggs to licensed packing stations?
§ Major Lloyd GeorgeIf the right hon. Gentleman will await the long and detailed statement which is to be made, he will find that when the original statement was made last November in the House, we said that we would immediately proceed with consultation with the National Farmers' Union, and as a result of these consultations this scheme has been put forward.
§ Mr. CrouchIs my right hon. and gallant Friend aware that there has been a greater demand for day-old pullets this spring than there has been for four years, and it is not uncommon for producers in the habit of buying 50 day-old pullets to increase their order to 300 or 400?