§ 17. Mr. Manuelasked the Secretary of State for Scotland the amounts paid in subsidies to the pig industry in Scotland for the years 1956–57, 1957–58, and 1958–59, respectively
§ Mr. MaclayGuarantee payments in respect of pigs certified in Scotland in 1011 these years were £1,793,000, £1,953,000 and £1,198,000, respectively. These figures do not take account of pigs produced in Scotland which are taken over the border and certified in England.—[HON. MEMBERS: "Certified?"]—Exact information about guarantee payments for these pigs is not available but they are estimated to be of the order of £625,000, £900,000 and £515,000, respectively, for the three years in question.
§ Mr. ManuelIs the right hon. Gentleman aware that in Committee upstairs we are dealing with the Mental Health (Scotland) Bill and that possibly he could come along there and give us an explanation? Can the right hon. Gentleman say why it is that while the Labour Government were in office producers obtained a much better price for their bacon and pork pigs and a much cheaper price prevailed in the shops, and the very opposite is now the case?
§ Mr. MaclayI have given a remarkable amount of information in my Answer, but I assume that the hon. Member is aware that wholesale bacon prices recently fell by 20s. per hundredweight.