§ Colonel Baldwin-Webbasked the Minister of Food whether he will call for a report on the working of the meat rationing scheme in Shropshire up to 2nd February?
§ Mr. W. S. MorrisonI have made inquiries into the working of the meat and livestock control scheme in Shropshire up to 2nd February, and I have ascertained that owing to the very severe weather conditions that obtained in that area during the period, supplies at collecting centres of fat stock for slaughter were short and transport difficulties were experienced in filling the gap with imported meat. My hon. and gallant Friend will appreciate that these conditions were not limited to Shropshire and that the interference with normal supplies which they caused wasn't confined to meat only. With a view to meeting the emergency, special permission was given by the area meat and livestock officer to slaughter a limited number of stock during the week ending 3rd February in districts that were unable to obtain their requirements from a Government depot. The latest reports indicate that the distribution of meat is now working satisfactorily.
§ Colonel Baldwin-Webbasked the Minister of Food whether the slaughtermen employed in the Shropshire slaughterhouses and in the slaughterhouses providing meat for Shropshire are experts in their work; and whether they have been drawn from the slaughtermen in the district who have hitherto been employed by the butchers?
§ Mr. MorrisonThe answer to both parts of the Question is in the affirmative.
§ Colonel Baldwin-Webbasked the Minister of Health whether he is aware that the hospitals in districts of Shropshire were unable to obtain meat last week, with the result that they had to go outside and buy anything they could, which was largely offal, thereby doubling the expenses of the dietary; and whether he proposes to make any special grants to hospitals unable to obtain necessary provisions under the meat-rationing system?
§ Mr. ElliotMy attention had not previously been drawn to this matter. I understand that the difficulties to which 985W my hon. Friend refers were of a temporary nature, and I do not think that the circumstances are such as to call for any arrangement of the kind suggested in the second part of the Question.
§ Colonel Baldwin-Webbasked the Minister of Food on what grounds he justifies sending from Wellington to Derby and Coventry all animals bred locally and feeding the people in the Wellington district with short supplies of meat bought from elsewhere?
§ Mr. MorrisonFat stock purchased by the Ministry at collecting centres is sent for slaughter to selected slaughter-houses, and its distribution either as livestock or as dead meat depends upon the requirements of the country as a whole, and is planned to ensure an equitable distribution of meat. The production of fat stock in the Wellington district and other parts of Shropshire is normally more than sufficient for local requirements, and butchers outside the county have in peace time always purchased a proportion of the stock. It is for these reasons that stock purchased by my officers at Wellington may on occasions be sent to Derby and Coventry for slaughter. The slaughter-house from which supplies of fresh meat are sent to Wellington is situated at Shrewsbury. I recognise that supplies at Wellington may have been below normal during the recent spell of severe weather which started with the second week of control. Such conditions were not peculiar to Wellington but affected the supplies of fresh meat and the distribution of imported meat throughout the country.
§ Colonel Baldwin-Webbasked the Minister of Food whether he is aware that last week the roof of a shed fell on two cattle at Weston, Shropshire, so that they had to be slaughtered, but the meat control officials in the area refused to allow the carcases to be sold to the people of the district, although they had had no meat at all in the week, but compelled them to be sent to Wolverhampton for distribution; and what steps he is taking to allay the resentment which a policy of this kind is causing?
§ Mr. MorrisonFrom inquiries which I have made into the matter referred to in the Question, I am aware that the roof of a shed fell on two cattle at Weston.
986WI am informed that on the day of the accident the bailiff of the owner of the cattle informed the local district chairman of auctioneers that he thought the animals might live. On the following day the bailiff informed the district chairman that the animals should be slaughtered. The bailiff was then instructed to have the animals slaughtered by a local butcher and to arrange for the carcases to be delivered to one of four selected slaughterhouses in the district. The carcases were in fact collected by the manager of the Newport slaughter-house. The procedure adopted was in accordance with that laid down under the Control Scheme. The statement that the people in the Weston parish had no meat in the week in question is not correct. They received their fair share of 7,800 lbs. issued to the Penkridge group of retail butchers through whom Weston is supplied.
§ Colonel Baldwin-Webbasked the Minister of Food whether he is aware that the butchers at Market Drayton and district last week went many miles to Whitchurch to collect meat but had to return practically empty-handed; and whether any steps are taken to warn butchers on occasions of this nature that it is useless for them to make such a journey?
§ Mr. MorrisonThe circumstances referred to were connected with the severe weather conditions in the district, which I mentioned in my reply to my hon. and gallant Friend yesterday and were known too late to warn the butchers concerned that supplies would not be available to them. I have, however, arranged that when in future warning can be given of the non-arrival of supplies this shall be done. Instructions are being issued to deputy meat agents requesting them to warn the butchers in their area where possible on every occasion when supplies have not arrived at a depot.