§ 20. Major Beamishasked the Minister of Food the approximate annual cost of restoring the food subsidies this year to a level which would reduce the price of all foodstuffs, rationed in March, 1949, to their level in that month, basing the calculation on the estimated consumption of such foodstuffs this year; and how this figure compares with the total cost of subsidies this year.
Dr. HillIncluding bread, flour and milk, which were subsidised but not rationed in March, 1949, about £900 million. The Department's Estimate forecasts the cost of food subsidies at £221.5 million this year.