§ Mr. Stephenasked the President of the Board of Trade is he will now consider the advisability of increasing the number of clothing coupons allowed to women, in view of their greater needs than men; and the need of a general increase of such 947W coupons, in view of the fact that the present allowance is inadequate, especially in the case of poorer people whose wardrobes at the beginning of the war were so much less than that of their richer neighbours.
§ Captain WaterhouseI cannot agree that women need more coupons than men. The coupon rates for the various garments are calculated so as fairly to balance the differing needs of men and women. Until more of our resources can be diverted to clothing and increased supplies are moving to the shops, it would be useless to give the public more clothing coupons. This matter is constantly under review.