Mr. ALFRED DAVIESasked the Food Controller if he will state the quantities of foodstuffs, notably meat (including bacon), grain, sugar, and tea, purchased during the War and now held by his Department; the prices paid for those stocks; the prices or methods by which it is proposed to dispose of them; and indicate the policy his Department or the Government proposes to follow with regard to these stocks?
§ Mr. McCURDYA Memorandum has already been promised showing the stocks of the principal foodstuffs held by the Ministry of Food. I hope to supplement this by particulars as to the average cost of these stocks. With regard to the latter portion of the question, a Committee is considering the price at which the stocks in question shall be disposed of, and it has been determined, with the concurrence of the Chancellor of the Exchequer, that such prices may be below those at which the stocks were acquired. I may, however, point out that it would be clearly unwise to lower prices for existing stocks, unless there were a reasonable prospect of being able to maintain these lower prices in the immediate future.