HC Deb 02 November 1939 vol 352 cc2143-4W
Mr. Barnes

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether it is his intention to bring the price of newsprint within the scope of the Prices of Goods Bill; whether he is aware of the proposal of the paper controller to increase the price of newsprint from £12 5s. a ton to £17 a ton, and all other papers by approximately 50 per cent. in the immediate future; and whether he proposes to take any effective action to prevent this steep rise in the price of paper which will have serious repercussions on the newspaper, printing and allied trades?

Mr. Stanley

The answer to the first part of the question is in the negative. As I explained in the course of the Debates on the Prices of Goods Bill, the Bill will not be applied to commodities whose price is fixed by Government Departments.

In regard to the latter part of the question I would refer the hon. Member to the reply given on 31st October by my right hon. Friend, the Minister of Supply, to the hon. Members for Wycombe (Sir A. Knox) and Kidderminster (Sir J. Wardlaw-Milne).