Oral Answers to Questions — Agriculture. – in the House of Commons at on 14 December 1939.
Colonel Ralph Glyn
, Abingdon
asked the Minister of Agriculture what steps he has taken to organise the establishment of pig clubs throughout the country; whether he is aware that the present shortage of feeding-stuffs has produced a situation of extreme gravity; that pig producers are faced with the alternative of either slaghtering two-thirds of their stock or obtaining from other sources suitable food; and whether he will, in collaboration with the Minister of Food, the Minister of Supply, and the Minister of Health, circulate to all local authorities a request that immediate steps be taken to collect swill and other waste products, that this be treated in such a way as to provide feed for breeding sows and weaner pigs, and thus, by eliminating waste, enable pig producers not to reduce but to increase their herds?
Mr Walter Womersley
, Grimsby
My right hon. Friend, the Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries is sending the hon. Member a copy of a Press notice issued by his Department on 24th November from which he will see that an independent body, known as the Small Pig Keepers' Council, was set up on that date for the purpose of fostering the pig club movement throughout the country. My right hon. Friend the Minister of Supply has already circularised local authorities urging them "to take immediate steps to establish an effective system for the collection of waste," and as indicated in his reply to the hon. Member for South-West Bethnal Green (Sir P. Harris) on 23rd November, my right hon. and gallant Friend the Minister of Agriculture will take all possible steps to supplement that appeal so far as it concerns waste food suitable for pig and poultry breeding.
Mr Emanuel Shinwell
, Seaham
Where is the Minister this morning?
Sir Percy Harris
, Bethnal Green South West
Has anything been done by way of the collection of waste? We seem to have the greatest difficulty in the collection of waste.
Mr Frederick Macquisten
, Argyll
Have it broadcast to households to collect their spare food. There is enough spare food in this country to feed all the pigs that we need.
Colonel Ralph Glyn
, Abingdon
asked the Minister of Health whether his attention has been drawn to the importance of encouraging pig clubs throughout the country; and whether he will give local authorities instructions to waive restrictions imposed by recent legislation that prevent cottagers keeping a pig within so many yards of a dwelling-house?
Mr Walter Elliot
, Glasgow Kelvingrove
I am aware of the importance in present circumstances of facilitating the keeping of pigs in the interests of increased food production, and I have recently addressed to local authorities a circular, of which I am sending my hon. Friend a copy, concerning the keeping of pigs by tenants of their housing estates. I do not know exactly to what recent legislation my hon. Friend refers, but I believe that by-Laws concerning pig-keeping seldom impose any condition as to the distance from a dwelling-house within which pigs may be kept, provided they are kept in a clean and wholesome condition.
Colonel Ralph Glyn
, Abingdon
Will my right hon. Friend, if I send him instances of where this condition exists, do his best to remove it?
Mr Walter Elliot
, Glasgow Kelvingrove
I will certainly examine them, but I think we are agreed that pigs should be kept in clean and wholesome places.
Ministers make up the Government and almost all are members of the House of Lords or the House of Commons. There are three main types of Minister. Departmental Ministers are in charge of Government Departments. The Government is divided into different Departments which have responsibilities for different areas. For example the Treasury is in charge of Government spending. Departmental Ministers in the Cabinet are generally called 'Secretary of State' but some have special titles such as Chancellor of the Exchequer. Ministers of State and Junior Ministers assist the ministers in charge of the department. They normally have responsibility for a particular area within the department and are sometimes given a title that reflects this - for example Minister of Transport.
Laws are the rules by which a country is governed. Britain has a long history of law making and the laws of this country can be divided into three types:- 1) Statute Laws are the laws that have been made by Parliament. 2) Case Law is law that has been established from cases tried in the courts - the laws arise from test cases. The result of the test case creates a precedent on which future cases are judged. 3) Common Law is a part of English Law, which has not come from Parliament. It consists of rules of law which have developed from customs or judgements made in courts over hundreds of years. For example until 1861 Parliament had never passed a law saying that murder was an offence. From the earliest times courts had judged that murder was a crime so there was no need to make a law.
