HC Deb 14 March 1950 vol 472 cc44-6W
74. Mr. Harrison

asked the President of the Board of Trade how the quantities of utility clothing and household drapery available for purchase compare with the amounts of non-utility grades so available; and what recent changes there have been in this ratio, both proportionately and in bulk.

Mr. Rhodes

The information available relates mainly to supplies by cloth and hosiery manufacturers for the home civilian market; the ratio is expressed in the form of the percentage of utility supplies to the total. As the answer consists of a long table of figures, I will, with my hon. Friend's permission, circulate it in the OFFICIAL REPORT.

Following are the figures:

SUPPLIES FOR HOME CIVILIAN CONSUMPTION IN 1949
January to June (or nearest period) July to December (or latest period)
— Unit Utility Total Column (1) as a Percentage of Column (2) Utility Total Column (4) as a Percentage Of Column (5)
(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6)
WOVEN CLOTH FOR CLOTHING: Deliveries in m. sq. yds.
Cotton and linen 117.9 178.4 66 125.7 212.2 59
Rayon and nylon 74.6 110.8 67 69.5 118.6 59
Wool 87.5 120.3 73 105.9 n.a. 78 (a)
FURNISHING FABRICS (b): Deliveries in m. sq. yds.
Non-wool 14.9 28.7 52 17.1 29.4 58
Wool .83 2.19 38 .63(a) 1.57(a) 40 (a)
HOUSEHOLD TEXTILES: (principal types) Deliveries:
Towels Thousands 9,820 12,671 78 9,650 13,139 73
Sheets Thousands 3,452 4,039 85 3,592 4,753 76
Pillowcases Thousands 3,681 5,228 70 3,586 5,802 62
Blankets (including Cot blankets):
Cotton Thousands 3,700 4,029 92 3,686 4,276 86
Wool Thousands 2,082 2,218 94 1,273 (a) 1,377 (a) 92 (a)
Ticking Th. Sq. yds. 8,288 10,487 79 8,923 11,454 78
HOSIERY (f):
All garments (g) Sales in?m. 39.8 45.3 88 30.4 34.8 87 (a)
CORSETS AND BRASSIERES (C) Production in th. (February-May) (June-September)
garments 7,210 9,281 78 7,035 9,846 71
GLOVES (d)(f): Sales in th. doz. prs. (January-June) (July- December)
Leather 402 459 87 530 612 87
Fabric (e) 153 303 50 209 269 78

Note: (a) July-October.

(b) Deliveries for transport organisations, hospitals and other institutions, which are all non-utility, are excluded for non-wool furnishing fabrics but included for wool.

(c) Surgical corsets, belts and brassieres are excluded.

(d) Knitted gloves, and industrial and sports gloves, are excluded.

(e) Supplies are subject to seasonal fluctuations.

(f) Including imports.

(g) Including garments made-up from knitted cloth in the hosiery industry.

82. Mr. Burden

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he is aware that consequent upon devaluation and the increase in the price of wool utility cloth, categories Nos. 206 and 208 have disappeared from the market; and whether he will, by authorising price increases for these categories to offset the effect of devaluation, ensure that these cloths again become available to the public.

Mr. Rhodes

My hon. Friend appears to be misinformed. Manufacturers' deliveries of utility wool cloths Nos. 206 and 208 amounted in January, 1950, to 818,000 and 1,123,000 square yards respectively.