§ Mr. Pickthornasked the Secretary of State for Air why he ended the arrangement under which Royal Air Force units were allowed to buy fresh fruit and vegetables from local growers.
§ Mr. A. HendersonThe arrangement was introduced early in the last war as a result of the special circumstances that then existed, to enable units to obtain fresh fruit and vegetables from local growers who held surpluses, and during the war years served a useful purpose. The scheme, however, gave rise to difficulties, particularly in obtaining a regular flow of supplies, either from local producers or from the N.A.A.F.I. Now that marketing has become easier it has been decided that the needs of the R.A.F. would be met more satisfactorily by using the N.A.A.F.I. fruit and vegetable buying and distributing organisation. Wherever practicable, the N.A.A.F.I. meet the requirements of R.A.F. stations by buying from local producers.