§ Mr. Glenvil Hallasked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food why his Ministry refused the request of the Colne Valley Chamber of Trade that the public should be informed, through the Press or the British Broadcasting Corporation, that, although consumers are entitled to spend all their points on dried fruits if available, actually only a small allocation on each registered sugar customer is made monthly to grocers?
§ Mr. MabaneIt is well known that the object of the points scheme is to regulate the distribution of foodstuffs in short supply while permitting freedom of choice within the scheme. Both the supply of and demand for individual items vary substantially from month to month. Any consumer is free to spend all his points on any one article within the scheme, but if the concentration of demand resulted in the supply being inadequate the pointage would be raised until equilibrium was obtained. The case of dried fruit is no different from that of any other pointed foodstuff and my Noble Friend sees no occasion for taking the steps mentioned in my hon. Friend's Question.