§ Mr. HOBHOUSEasked the President of the Board of Trade what steps have been taken, in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture, to secure a more complete record of producers' and consumers' prices, as recommended by the Linlithgow Report?
§ Mr. BUXTONI have been asked to reply. My Department obtains information as to wholesale or producers' prices for most agricultural commodities and publishes it in the "Agricultural Market Report." Information as to retail prices
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§ Mr. BUXTONThe acreage of arable land, wheat and permanent grass, respectively, in Great Britain and England and Wales in each of the undermentioned years was as follow:
is collected by the Ministry of Labour for the purpose of calculating the changes in the cost of living, and is published monthly in the Ministry of Labour "Gazette." My Department has considered in consultation with the Ministry of Labour the recommendations of the Linlithgow Committee as regards exploring the possibility of using this information for the comparison of producers' and consumers' prices, but it has been found that the information at present available is not of the kind which is essential to provide a satisfactory basis for such comparisons. I am considering whether the necessary data could be obtained without undue expense.