§ Sir C. Rawsonasked the Secretary of State for War whether he is aware that a canteen established by the Hove battalion of the Home Guard to provide food and refreshment for its personnel has been refused supplies of chocolate by the manufacturers, on the ground that it is not a canteen of the Regular Forces; and, as the Home Guard is a recognised part of the British Army, whether he will give instructions that canteens established for the Home Guard are to be entitled to the same privileges as those established for the Regular Forces?
§ Mr. LawI would refer my hon. Friend to the answer given to him by my hon. and gallant Friend the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food on Wednesday last. My hon. Friend will appreciate that the question of providing chocolate for Home Guard canteens is part of the general problem of securing a due balance between special priority needs, including those of the Armed Forces and Civil Defence personnel, and the needs of the general public under present war conditions. It was felt that in general, where a shortage existed, the Home Guard would not wish to secure special privileges at the expense of the ordinary consumer. Priority for the Home Guard may, however, be justified in certain cases, and this aspect of the question is being given further consideration.