§ 81. Mr. Collinsasked the President of the Board of Trade if he is aware that inmates of public assistance institutions do not receive an allocation of clothing coupons; and if he will make an allocation of 20 clothing units per annum to such people in order to alleviate the hardship suffered.
§ Mr. Belcher:The present arrangements should not cause hardship. Inmates of public assistance institutions are normally clothed entirely by the institution and do not, therefore, need clothing coupons, but those who wish to make purchases of clothing for themselves may be issued with coupon vouchers, so long as the total coupon value of clothing issued or purchased does not exceed the normal ration. To issue further coupons would place inmates of these institutions in a more favoured position than other people.
§ 84. Lieut.-Colonel Kingsmillasked the President of the Board of Trade whether he will consider the issue of extra coupons to War Reserve Police on their resignation from the force.
§ Mr. Belcher:No, Sir. Members of the War Reserve Police have received the same basic ration as all other civilians. They have surrendered not more than 52 coupons since rationing started for complete uniform and footwear, and the use of this has meant a corresponding saving in wear and tear on their other clothing. In these circumstances, it should have been possible for them to maintain a reasonable civilian wardrobe, and I could not agree to give them extra coupons on resignation from the force.
§ 97. Mr. Piratinasked the President of the Board of Trade if he will now grant permission for the industrial 10 supplement of clothing coupons to be issued to 115W workers employed in the making up of cloth into clothing in factories exclusively devoted to this purpose and provided with mechanical power, irrespective of the number of employees so employed, in view of the fact that the wear and tear on clothing by reason of the use of machinery is not affected by the number employed in a factory.
§ Mr. Belcher:I have nothing to add to the reply given to the hon. Member on 18th March.
§ 98. Lieut.-Colonel Kingsmillasked the President of the Board of Trade whether he will allow a special issue of clothing coupons to school managers, to enable sports kit to be purchased for those taking part in games.
§ Mr. Belcher:No, Sir. Arrangements already exist for the provision of limited supplies of communal clothing for such purposes. It is not possible to make more generous arrangements until clothing supplies as a whole improve.