§ Colonel Baldwin-Webbasked the Minister of Agriculture what representations he has received to the effect that many pig breeders consider the pig marketing contracts null and void, and that the charge of 1s. 6d. per pig for weighing is unnecessary; and whether he can state the views of his Department on the suggested abolition of this charge?
§ Sir R. Dorman-SmithUnder the Pigs (Provisional Prices) Orders which were made by the Board of Trade and the Minister of Food, it is no longer legal to deliver pigs in pursuance of the long contracts made under the Bacon Industry Acts. My hon. and gallant Friend sent me some representations on this subject which I have referred to my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. The charge of 1s. 6d. represents the levies payable by registered curers to the Pigs Marketing Board and the Bacon Development Board which the curers are, by virtue of the Orders I have mentioned, entitled to deduct from the prices paid for the pigs.