§ Mr. Priceasked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food what steps are being taken to provide mobile canteens at pit-heads so that miners may have hot soup and sandwiches at hours convenient to them?
Major Lloyd GeorgeIn consultation with my right hon. Friend the Minister for Mines, my Noble Friend has been considering what steps can be taken to improve the feeding facilities for the miners. It appears that the needs of the miners will be best met, not by mobile canteens, but by canteens located at pitheads which will supply snacks in the form of sandwiches, meat pies, or sausage rolls to the miners for consumption tinder-ground. Where there is a demand for meals, an effort will be made to ensure that the necessary facilities will be provided. Considerable progress has already been made on these lines. On the latest information available canteens catering for some 160,000 men are already established and proposals are in hand for canteens which will cater for a further 288,000 men. The Miners' Welfare Commission is defraying the cost of equipping the canteens.