§ Mr. Sharpasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what prospects there are of increasing supplies of boots and shoes in the British zone of Germany; and whether sole reliance is placed on production within the zone.
§ Mr. MayhewAs a consequence of the fusion of the British and United States zones in December, 1946, production statistics are not prepared any longer on a zonal basis. It is therefore not possible to give details of production for the156W British zone alone, but the following information relates to the Bizonal area as a whole and may be of interest. With regard to the first part of the Question, the prospects are good. By September output had reached a figure more than twice the average monthly figure for 1947 and by the end of this year production should reach the rate of 1.14 pairs for every person a year. This rate would compare favourably with pre-war production, which in 1939 was 1.3 pairs and in 1930 only 1.1 pairs per person. Production by 1950 should be at the rate of 1.2 pairs per person. With regard to the second part of the Question, productive capacity in the Bizone is sufficient to achieve the production rates mentioned above and to deal with all the raw materials likely to be available.