HC Deb 30 September 1941 vol 374 cc473-5W
Major Thornton-Kemsley

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food whether he will waive the restriction against householders purchasing more than one week's supply of rationed foodstuffs in the case of lonely glens to which merchants pay only occasional visits and whose inhabitants have to walk long distances for their weekly supplies when the roads are blocked by snow?

Major Lloyd George

The rationing regulations provide that rations of butter and margarine, cooking fats, bacon and sugar may be purchased for the current week and for a week in arrears. Tea rations may be bought for the current week and either for a week in arrears or a week in advance. The whole ration of cheese for a four-weeks period may be bought at

I. Civilian and Army allowances of rationed food per week (15th September, 1941)
Commodity. Civilian rations. Army rations (a) Home Service Scale.
General. Seamen on weekly articles. Men. Women.
Meat 1s. 2d. adult, 7d. child under six. 120 ozs. 42 ozs. 35 ozs.
Bacon and Ham (uncooked, free of bone). 4 ozs. 8 ozs. 9 ozs. 8 ozs.
Butter and margarine 6 ozs. (not more than 2 ozs. butter) 13¼ ozs. (in any proportions of butter and margarine) 10½ ozs. (margarine only) 10½ozs. (not more than 3½ ozs. butter)
Cheese 3 ozs. 4 ozs. 4 ozs. 4 ozs.
Cooking Fats 2 ozs. (may be taken in the form of margarine) 2 ozs. (may be taken in the form of margarine)
Sugar 8 ozs. 30 ozs. 14 ozs. 14 ozs.
Tea 2 ozs. 4 ozs. 2 ozs. 2 ozs.
Preserves 16 ozs. per 4 weeks (jam, marmalade, syrup or treacle) 8 ozs. jam 2 ozs. syrup 7 ozs. (10½ ozs. for boys and young soldiers battalions) (jam, marmalade or syrup) 10½ ozs. (jam, marmalade, syrup)
(a) The maximum quantities of rationed foods which may be purchased by holders of leave or duty ration cards, with the exception of personnel billeted with subsistence, are those allowed to the ordinary civilian population. Personnel billeted with subsistence are allowed a larger meat ration (men 2s. 4d.; women 1s. 9d.).

any time during the four-weeks period (the four-weeks periods run from 28th July). The preserves rations may be bought for the current four-weeks period and for either the preceding or the following period. In addition to these normal arrangements, authority has been given to divisional food officers to use their discretion to grant permission for the purchase of up to three weeks supplies of rationed foods in advance in circumstances such as those mentioned by my hon. and gallant Friend.

Mr. Purbrick

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food whether he will set out, in tabular form, the amount of rationed foods allowed per head of the civilian population per week, together with any supplementary allowances and special cases, and similar information regarding the rations allotted to the Army per week?

Major Lloyd George

The information desired is given below:

II. Special civilian rations.

Persons falling within the following descriptions are allowed 8 ozs. of cheese per week in place of the general ration of 3 ozs.:—

vegetarians (meat and bacon coupons must be surrendered), underground mine workers, agricultural workers holding unemployment insurance books or cards bearing stamps marked "Agriculture ", county roadmen, forestry workers (including fellers and hauliers), land drainage workers (including Catchment Board workers), members of the Auxiliary Force of the Women's Land Army, railway train crews (including crews of shunting engines but not including dining car staffs), railway signalmen and permanent way men who have not access to canteen facilities, and certain types of agricultural industry workers (workers employed on threshing machines, tractor workers who are not included in the Agricultural Unemployment Insurance Stamp Scheme, hay pressers and trussers).

III. Weekly Supplementary allowances of rationed foods for invalids.
Disease. Supplementary allowance. Coupons to be surrendered.
Food. Quantity. Coupons to be surrendered.
Diabetes Butter and margarine 12 ozs. (not more than 4 ozs. Butter) Sugar
Meat 2s. 4d., adult 1s, 2d., child under six
Diabetes—vegetarians only Cheese 80zs. Sugar
Hypoglycaemia Sugar 16 ozs.
Steatorrhoea Meat 4s. 8d., adult, 2s. 4d., child under six Butter and Margarine
Nephritis with gross albuminuria and gross oedema, also nephrosis. Meat 3s. 6d. adult, 1s. 9d. child under six

Note.— In a few exceptional cases supplementary allowances have been granted to persons suffering from diseases other than those mentioned above.

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