§ Captain W. BENNasked the President of the Board of Trade whether the recent increase in the price of bunker coal applies to fishing trawlers; whether the price of fish has greatly declined while the cost of trawling have increased; and whether there are any figures to show the numbers of trawlers which have been withdrawn recently from service and the number of men thus thrown out of work?
Sir A. BOSCAWENThe answer to the first and second parts of the question is in the affirmative. In reply to the last part of the question, I cannot give the hon. Member precise figures, but the number of trawlers laid up is large. This is partly to be attributed to the fall in the price of fish and the increase of running expenses, and partly to provision for the annual refit, which is normally timed to take place in the summer.