Orders of the Day — Agricultural Marketing Acts.

Part of the debate – in the House of Commons am ar 26 Gorffennaf 1935.

Danfonwch hysbysiad imi am ddadleuon fel hyn

Photo of Mr Walter Elliot Mr Walter Elliot , Glasgow Kelvingrove

I am indebted to the hon. Member for Don Valley (Mr. T. Williams) for his suggestion, and I shall be only too pleased to discuss these two Amendments together, especially as the second Amendment is not one of substance. It is intended to bring the scheme into relation with the Act of 1933 and I am advised by my legal advisers that it is necessary in order to avoid any possibility of legal dispute. But it does not confer upon the Bacon Board any powers which that Board has not at present. I am advised that a challenge might be made in the courts because the wording is not exactly the same in the two cases. The first Amendment, however, is of more substance and it is only fair to give the House a short explanation of it. It is to provide that if for any reason an order were made by the Minister under section 2 of the Act of 1933 restricting the amount of home production that that should be shared equally by farmers producing pigs for sale themselves to bacon factories and for processors producing their own pigs. It will be seen that this cannot come into force at all unless there is an order by the Minister under section 2 of the Act of 1933. I do not contemplate making any such order because if made it would have to come before the House and it would require an affirmative Resolution of this House and also an affirmative Resolution in another place. The House will see that there will be full opportunity for review of the conditions which were producing such an Order, and therefore it is merely a potential power which is being given here and not a power on which there is any intention or indeed any possibility of acting without further review by this House.

It is also true that the Co-operative movement drew attention to that paragraph of the Amendment dealing with bacon produced from the curers' own pigs on the ground that it would prevent the co-operative societies from increasing the supply of bacon pigs produced on their own farms and that it would operate unfairly on the societies whose capital abroad had been injuriously affected by the quantitative regulation of imports. This objection led to a public inquiry being held at which the objection was not strongly pressed, and the inquiry did not sustain the objection. I cannot now, except very briefly, refer to the second business on the paper, which is part of the development scheme, and which in its turn, I believe, is acceptable to the Co-operative movement, and therefore they wish to take the rough with the smooth.

The Amendment here is put forward by the Bacon Marketing Board and is a concession to the pig producers by the curers; that is to say, they are saying, "If for any reason there should be limitation, it shall apply to us who produce and cure pigs as well as to you who only produce pigs." These are rather hypothetical points, and I am sorry to have to trouble the House with them. This is a small and technical but real point, and the other is technical only, and I think it would be more to the advantage of the House if we could dispose quite briefly of the two Amendments and proceed to the consideration of the development scheme itself, which raises issues of interest upon which I am sure hon. Members in various parts of the House would like to speak.