§ Sir C. Entwistleasked the Minister of Agriculture whether he is aware that the present drastic curtailment of milk supplies to makers of Lancashire cheese involves the risk that this trade will be so crippled during the winter months that the market for their product will be lost, with the result that they will be unable to utilise for cheese production the surplus milk which occurs during the summer months and which has to be quickly converted into dairy produce; and what steps he proposes to take to maintain the milk supplies of the country during the present emergency both for liquid consumption and manufacture?
§ Sir R. Dorman-SmithAs my hon. Friend will be aware, at this season of the year there is a decline in milk production compared with the summer months, and it has usually been necessary to divert milk from the butter and cheese markets to more remunerative markets. I understand that, owing to the exceptionally heavy demands for supplies of condensed milk for the fighting services, the quantity of milk available for cheese-making last month was somewhat less than in the corresponding month of last year, but more than the quantity available in November, 1937. As to the last part of the question, I can assure my hon. Friend that every endeavour is being, and will be, made to maintain normal supplies of milk, both for liquid consumption and for manufacture.