§ Mr. Hobsonasked the Minister of Food if he will consider extending the period of validity of soap coupons, owing to the failure of many retailers to meet the allocation.
§ Mr. StracheyI have arranged that all current coupons including soap coupons shall be valid during the next rationing period beginning 2nd February, but this is exceptional. Steps have recently been 271W taken to increase the quantity of soap available for distribution and I think that this should meet the case without any general extension of the validity of coupons, which would, incidentally, have the disadvantage of allowing the demand to fluctuate from period to period, thus putting additional strain on the distributive system.