Basic Domestic Ration

HC Deb 11 June 1947 vol 438 cc103-4W

Mr. Spence

asked the Minister of Food what is the estimated total number of persons entitled to rations above the basic domestic ration.

Mr. Strachey

The domestic ration of bread, meat and tea and also the milk allowances vary according to the age of the individual consumer. Taking the rations of the ordinary adult who is not a manual worker as the basis, and simply adding together the numbers in the various groups whose entitlements are different, the total comes to about 29 million. But this does not mean that 29 million people get more food than the rest of the population, because firstly some of these special categories, get less than the assumed basis (e.g. young children, while they get more milk, get no tea, less bread and less meat) and secondly, because their is duplication between the various categories (e.g. adolescents and manual workers).