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 Thomas Williams Mr Thomas Williams , Don Valley

I wish the right hon. Gentleman could have told the House that the development scheme embodied the statement that he made with regard to transferring factories from foreign countries to this country. After all, once the scheme is in action, it is, left to the Board to determine what shall or shall not happen. I should prefer that we had it in black and white before we hand over powers to interested persons such as we are about to confer upon them. The House ought to remember that this is the first scheme of its kind, and it is almost equivalent to a revolution in economics. The right hon. Gentleman is asking the House to accept a development scheme which grants full power to certain selected individuals to determine what the factory capacity for the bacon-curing industry in this country shall be. We have just passed two amendments to the Marketing Acts which partially conceded the power to restrict output. There is already the power to restrict imports of bacon. We have witnessed the results. There is a general decrease in the bacon consumption of this country, because people cannot afford to buy it, and this development scheme is the natural consequence of the breakdown of the pig marketing scheme. The constitution of this Board originally was three members of the Pigs Board, three members of the Bacon Board and three impartial members, making nine in all; but it is now four members of the Pigs Board, four members of the Bacon Board and three impartial members. Eight to three is a fairly weighted balance on the side of the producers, and it seems to me that the Board ought not to be so heavily weighted in favour of producers and against consumers.

This development scheme confers powers on the Board to license all bacon factories, and no other bacon factory after the appointed date will be able to produce bacon at all. They can close down factories, prevent new factories being erected, determine the conditions of such factories that remain and who shall have compensation or not. They are all-powerful on this body of three to eight—three representing 40,000,000 consumers, and eight representing 600 bacon factory owners.