Major BARNESasked the President of the Board of Trade whether, in making his inquiries into the price of beer, he will extend them to the State manufacture of beer under the Carlisle scheme; if so, whether he will inform the House as to the comparative cost of manufacture as between private and State managed brewers; and whether, and when, he will publish the result of his inquiries?
§ Mr. BALDWINIn reply to the hon. and gallant Member, I would point out that, considering the various qualities and kinds of beer and their different costs of production, which, moreover, vary at different centres, and considering further the varying conditions under which beer is sold, it is not possible to make a simple straightforward comparison between the cost of beer as brewed by private brewers and its cost as made at Carlisle under control conditions. To enable a comparison to be made that would be fair to all parties a comprehensive inquiry would have to be instituted, for which the Board of Trade has neither the necessary compulsory powers nor the requisite staff; an additional charge on the Board of Trade Vote would also be involved, which is not desirable at the present moment. All that I can do, with the staff available, is to make a very broad survey of the chief factors in beer production and the reliability and utility of the results will have to be considered very carefully before any public statement based upon them is made.