§ 79. Mr. Osborneasked the President of the Board of Trade what are the reasons for the wool controller refusing to publish details of the industry similar to those published by the cotton controller; and, in view of the repeated demand from the trade for these particulars, if he will direct that they be issued without further delay.
§ Mr. BelcherThe hon. Member is under a misapprehension in referring to a refusal by the Wool Controller to publish statistics of the wool industry, since responsibility for the publication of such statistics rests with the President of the Board of Trade. Figures of production and consumption of tops and of deliveries of wool cloth and blankets up to February, 1946, and of deliveries of worsted yarn up to the end of 1945 were published in the "Board of Trade Journal" of 18th May, 1946, and monthly deliveries of utility and non-utility wool cloth are published regularly in the "Monthly Digest of Statistics." The question of publishing more recent figures for tops and yarns was considered during the autumn, but it was decided to defer publication for a time. As a result of a further review it has now been decided to publish such180W information as is readily available in the near future.