Mr. MGUFFINasked the President of the Board of Trade whether he is aware that a Committee under the Profiteering Act has been set up in Belfast; whether, of the twenty-five seats on the Committee, fifteen have been allocated to members of the city corporation, one for each of the wards; whether in filling the remaining ten seats two more seats were assigned to members of the corporation; whether on the invitation of the Lord Mayor names of representatives of the consumers were to be sent forward; whether in the ease of the Belfast Co-operative Society, which trades with a fourth of the citizens, their nominees were rejected though strongly recommended by the Lord Mayor; and whether, in view of this injustice to a large section of the community, he will take steps to have it remedied?
§ Sir A. GEDDESThe answer to the first part of the question is in the affirmative. As regards the remainder of the question, I would remind the hon. Member that the power of appointing the local committees has been delegated to the local authorities, and it is for the local authority appointing a committee to decide, subject to the Board of Trade Regulations for local committees, what societies or associations shall be given representation on the committee.