§ 45. Mr. R. McNEILLasked the Prime Minister whether his attention has been directed to cases of hardship arising from the liability of contractors in relation to contracts entered in before the outbreak of war; whether, in the case of building contracts in particular, contractors are under legal obligation to pay heavy ground rents for sites which cannot be utilised under present conditions, and to effect clearance of sites and schemes of rebuilding under onerous time penalties which the existance of war conditions as regards labour and finance make it impracticable as well as inexpedient in the public interest to proceed with during the War; and whether he will consider the question of establishing a war emergency Court with power to suspend the liability created by pre-war contracts in such cases as it may appear just and expedient to do so?
§ The PRIME MINISTERI can add nothing to the answer that I gave to the hon. Member for North Islington on 1st December.