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

The Board has power to close down such factories as they regard as being in unsuitable geographical areas, or if they are inefficient or do not comply with any of the conditions which they think ought to exist in a bacon factory. It is obvious that the Marsh and Baxter people, who are all-powerful in the bacon world, will secure for themselves a monopoly once this scheme goes through. I have referred before to what we have witnessed already with hops, and what the factory owners did with sugar taking, at least 50 or 60 per cent. of the sums which we thought were available for the beet farmers. The factory owners walked away with it, and, unless we are careful, these people will also walk away with any benefits that filter through to the producers of pigs, that is, the farming element as distinct from the factory element who are going to utilise the raw material for the manufacture of bacon. The Board are able to lay down conditions as to whether a factory shall remain in existence or not, having regard to existing or prospective consumption, and if the premises do not meet with the approval, or are regarded as not being efficiently equipped, they can put them out of existence. They can refuse a licence if a licence previously granted has been revoked. It is true there are powers of appeal to arbitration and so forth, but the consumer really has got no power.

Once this scheme is accepted, I doubt very much whether the Co-operative Wholesale Society will get the justice to which they are entitled, although I hope, after what the right hon. Gentleman said, that something will be done at least to compensate them for the loss of their capital and their factory capacity in Denmark as a result of decreasing imports. It seems a strange thing that a body of people like the Co-operative Wholesale Society, operating exclusively for their members, are denied the right to purchase the number of pigs they want, and, secondly, denied the right, under the terms of this development scheme, to have the factories necessary to meet the demands of their 7,000,000 consumers. The Co-operative Wholesale Society and their retail shops will perforce have to go to Marsh and Baxter or their parallels because they are denied the privilege of serving their own people. It is a tremendous power to put into the hands of a producers' board, and I agree with my right hon. Friend the Member for Swindon (Dr. Addison) that if, for the purpose of efficiency in any branch of the agricultural industry, we require to give this power to supervise organisation that in itself is very desirable, the power ought to be given to a public utility society, or some body of persons operating on behalf of the consumers, and not be put into the hands of a body of people in existence for the maximum amount of profit they can derive. We ought to concentrate on maximum output and short prices.

I would have liked to have made reference to one or two other sections of this development scheme—48 and 49 for instance—which gives power over insurance, sales, transport charges, transport arrangement and other things, if the Pigs and Bacon Boards pass a resolution handing over the power to the Development Board. But because this Board is exclusively a producers' board, with powers never given to any similar board in the history of Parliament, we not only doubt the wisdom of the action of the right hon. Gentleman, but are obliged to oppose the development scheme.