§ 72. Sir I. Fraserasked the Minister of Food if he will relax restrictions so that ex-Servicemen may start retail food shops on their own and obtain the necessary supplies.
§ Dr. SummerskillWe have so far limited preferential treatment in the issue of new retail licences to ex-traders who closed their businesses because of the war, and to suitable disabled ex-Servicemen selected in consultation with the Ministry of Labour. I regret that it is not practicable to extend this preference to all ex-Servicemen. Our general policy, however, is to relax licensing controls as supplies become more plentiful and we have already made certain relaxations and more are contemplated in the near future.