§ 67. Mr. Sparksasked the President of the Board of Trade if he is aware that black wool for darning and mending purposes has been unobtainable in retail shops for a long time; and what action he proposes to take to restore supplies.
§ Mr. BelcherThe quantity of each colour produced is settled by the manufacturers in the light of the demand, and I am not aware that black is scarcer than other normal mending colours. The general shortage of supplies was aggravated by the loss of output during the fuel crisis early this year, but production is now increasing and I hope the position in the shops will shortly improve.