Mr. Rostron Duckworthasked the President of the Board of Trade whether he will give an assurance that if concentration of retail trade becomes necessary, he will consider suspending preferentially the activities of large firms on the ground that they can be most easily compensated and revived after the war?
§ Captain WaterhouseNo, Sir. My right hon. Friend does not wish in any way to anticipate the conclusions of the Retail Trade Committee, but it is essential that any further measures which may be taken to deal with the present problems of the retail trade should aim at securing an equitable balance between the different trading interests concerned. As has already been stated, there can be no question of compensation from public funds.