§ Sir R. Gowerasked the President of the Board of Trade whether, in view of the large export trade which, particularly valuable at the present time, has been built up by the makers of branded infant foods, he will take steps to ensure that this trade is not prejudiced by Government subsidisation of the national milk powder scheme?
§ Sir A. DuncanI have no reason to think that the national milk powder scheme will affect the export of branded infant foods.
§ Colonel Carverasked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food whether, to maintain in existence the firms which have hitherto successfully supplied established infant foods to welfare centres, he will make arrangements for these to be still supplied at the same price as the proposed national milk powder which, with State help, is directly to compete with them?
§ Mr. BoothbyNational milk powder has been introduced not to compete with infants' foods already on the market, but50W solely as a substitute for liquid milk in the limited number of cases where infants under the age of 12 months are certified by doctors as requiring such milk powder in place of the liquid milk which is provided under the National Milk Scheme. Welfare centres will, no doubt, still continue to prescribe those infant foods which they have supplied in the past to all children over the age of 12 months, and also to infants under that age where such a special type of food is required on medical grounds. In the latter case the cost would be borne as heretofore and not met by the Government under the National Milk Scheme.