Lieutenant Hughesasked the President of the Board of Trade what further steps he is considering to assist and encourage manufacturers to meet the shortage of WX and OS sizes of women's utility clothing, corsets and footwear; and whether he can give any assurances of an early improvement in the position.
§ Mr. Ellis SmithI have no evidence of any exceptional scarcity in the larger sizes of footwear, and I cannot usefully improve on the general arrangements at present in operation to encourage the production of WX and OS sizes of women's utility clothing and corsets. But if my hon. and gallant Friend has in mind any special difficulties of individual manufacturers, I am prepared to look into them. The supply of outsizes should improve progressively as more material and labour become available for textile and footwear production.