§ Sir E. Campbellasked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food to what extent the co-operative societies are permitted, by his Department, to supply milk to customers in a road allocated under the scheme to other milk suppliers; and why the co-operative societies should have this privilege?
§ Mr. MabaneCo-operative societies may be excluded from schemes for the rationalisation of milk deliveries and permitted to continue to serve their existing customers. Where there are two or more societies delivering milk in an area, however, they are required to rationalise between themselves so as to eliminate any overlapping of delivery services. In reply to the last part of my hon. Friend's Question, the arrangements in force do not confer any special privilege on co-operative societies whose trade, in common with that of other milk distributors, has been "frozen" as from the date of the introduction of retail rationalisation. The arrangement, which was agreed to by the representatives of private and co-operative trade, was adopted in order to avoid, on the one hand, the complications which would arise in connection with the payment of dividends by co-operative societies if they had been prevented from continuing to serve their existing customers and, on the other hand, the objection which some persons would have against being required to trade with the co-operative movement and being given no opportunity of buying milk from any other distributor.