§ Mr. Oliverasked the President of the Board of Trade whether the Retail Trade Committee set up by his Department in 1941 issued a report; and whether he has any record of the number of retail shops in 1939 used for trading by chemists, confectioners, stationers, tobacconists, newsagents or any other retail trade and the number of such shops per head of population.
§ Mr. J. EdwardsThe Retail Trade Committee produced three reports, in October, 1941, January, 1942, and June, 1942, and these were published by His Majesty's Stationery Office. The information asked for in the second part of the Question is not available. Such information for retail trades generally can132W only be obtained by means of a Census of Distribution; provision for the first census covering trade in 1950 has been made in the Census of Distribution (1951) Order.