§ Sir W. Smithersasked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food whether he can give an estimate of the number of small retailers in fish and milk who will be put out of business by the new schemes for control of these distributor businesses; and, in considering the details of these schemes, will he take steps to ensure that these small firms will have the opportunity of restarting after the war and will not be crushed by the chain stores, co-operative or other big combines?
Major Lloyd GeorgeIn regard to milk, I would refer my hon. Friend to paragraphs 9 and 10 of the memorandum on Milk Policy presented to the House last week. Local rationalisation schemes must make provision for preserving the interests of individual retailers, whether or not they participate in the actual delivery of milk during the operation of the schemes. As regards fish, I am not aware of what scheme my hon. Friend has in mind but if he will give me particulars I will look into the matter.