Meat Marketing Board (Hansard, 5 February 1962)

§ 12. Mr. Morris
asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he will sot up an inquiry to investigate the desirability of establishing a Meat Marketing Board.

§ Mr. Soames
Much thought is being given to the many aspects of meat marketing and I would ask the hon. Member to await what I shall have to say in the forthcoming debate on the Supplementary Estimate.

§ Mr. Morris
In view of the evidence of this year's unsatisfactory working of deficiency payments and the fact that the National Farmers' Union is engaged on a study of both commercial and statutory undertakings for the marketing of meat, will the Government give an assurance now that they are considering the matter?

§ Mr. Soames
It is, I think, well known—indeed, it has been well appreciated since the 1953 White Paper—that the setting up of a producer marketing board for meat is an extremely complex problem. The position at the present moment is that the industry has announced that it is pressing forward with certain commercial developments and at the same time the members of the industry have been told by their leaders that they will continue actively to study the advantages that could flow from the setting up of a meat marketing board. I think that that is a very wise decision.

§ Mr. Peart
As the right hon. Gentleman has on several occasions recently declared that we must leave marketing to the industry, do I take it that there will be a change by next Monday?

§ Mr. Soames
No, Sir. The hon. Gentleman should take it that as a result of this subject being raised on the Supplementary Estimates he will be able to listen to a speech from me.