§ 25. Mr. Ridleyasked the Secretary of State for Prices and Consumer Protection if she will now phase out the bread subsidy and establish a real price for bread.
§ Mr. MaclennanBread is a basic foodstuff of particular importance to poorer families, and I have no intention of phasing out the subsidy in the immediate future.
§ Mr. RidleyIs the hon. Gentleman aware that the words of this Question have been taken exactly from the annual conference resolution of the Bakers' Union? This is what it wanted. Why do the Government always do everything that they are told to do by the unions except on the rare occasion when it happens to be right?
§ Mr. MaclennanI think that the hon. Gentleman is under a misapprehension. The subsidy has not affected the profits of the baking companies since it was designed to give the same return as the price increases which they would have implemented. We believe that the subsidy may have positively helped the industry since we have observed a small increase in the consumption of bread, which is against the established trend.
§ Mr. Mike ThomasWill my hon. Friend say whether the real value of the bread subsidy, including its share of the £70 million referred to in the White Paper, will be greater in the next 12 months or less than it was last year?
§ Mr. MaclennanI should expect it to be much the same.