§ Sir W. Smithersasked the President of the Board of Trade to state, in convenient categories, the amount of stocks of timber in Great Britain at the latest available date.
§ Mr. H. WilsonThe hon. Member will find the latest available figures of the stocks of softwood, hardwood, pitwood and plywood in the October issue of the Monthly Digest of Statistics published by His Majesty's Stationery Office.
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§ Sir W. Smithersasked the President of the Board of Trade how many officials have power to issue timber licences; which Departments require timber and apply for licences; and how many are consulted before licences are in fact issued.
§ Mr. BelcherTimber licences are not issued centrally. Timber is allocated by the Materials Committee of the Cabinet to all Departments who need it for the production purposes for which they are responsible and each Department issues licences for the acquisition and consumption of the requisite timber out of its own allocation. It is, therefore, for using Departments to decide what officials are to be empowered to issue timber licences. If the hon. Member desires, I will inquire as to the total number and let him know. It is not normally necessary for one Department to consult any other before it issues a timber licence.