§ Mr. Home Robertsonasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on his Department's contingency plans for the supply and rationing of food in the event of war together with any expenditure that is being incurred by his Department on preparation for the administration of a rationing system and on stocks of food for human consumption.
§ Mr. Donald ThompsonContingency plans for the control and distribution of food in the event of war are developed as part of the normal civil emergency planning functions in my Department. They are summarised in section 11 of the emergency planning guidance issued to local authorities by the Home Office and are the subject of discussions with local authority representatives.
Apart from staff costs, the expenditure on these activities is set out in class IV vote 4 of the 1986–87 Supply Estimates.