§ Mr. RATCLIFFEasked the Minister of Food is he is aware of the unequal distribution of live stock, especially sheep, in the West Riding of Yorkshire, whereby some towns are obtaining a much larger supply than they are entitled to, and as a consequence other towns suffer from great scarcity and the slaughtermen in such places are unable to make a living; that additional cost of transit is incurred by the removal of the dead meat by rail or road, thus causing double carriage, and will he insist in future that livestock shall be more equally distributed so that each town or area gets its fair proportion?
§ Mr. McCURDYI am not aware of any general inequality in the distribution of live stock between towns in the West Riding of Workshire. The fact that farmers have the option of selling their stock either on the live or the dead weight basis does from time to time put difficulties in the way of distribution, since there is no means of estimating in advance the numbers coming forward on each basis, and it occasionally becomes necessary to supply live stock permit holders with home-killed dead meat. If, however, such inequalities do occur in any one week, every endeavour is made to rectify them during the week which follows.