§ 13. Sir F. FLANNERYasked the Minister of Munitions if his attention has been called to numbers of complaints by contractors for shells of the short delivery of steel undertaken to be supplied to them by the Munitions Committee; whether he 138 is aware that a firm entered into a contract in November last for the delivery of 1,000 shells per week, and that they have made between the date of their contract on the 17th April not less than twenty-eight formal requests for steel, gauges, and copper bands; if he will say whether these demands have been punctually met; whether the total quantity of steel supplied to these contractors up to the 5th April was 125 tons, being 100 tons short of the amount required to make the shells contracted for; whether the organised night-shift of workers has been disbanded in consequence of the delays in delivery; and whether the contractors will now receive the necessary supplies to enable them to complete their contract, and an admission that the contractors are not to blame for the delay that has already occurred?
§ The MINISTER of MUNITIONS (Mr. Lloyd George)I suggest to the hon. Member that it is very undesirable to answer questions of this character on the floor of the House, and I have repeatedly appealed to hon. Members not to place such questions on the Order Paper. If the hon. Member will give the names of the firms to which he refers, I will cause inquiry to be made into the matter, and will let the hon. Member know the result privately.
§ Sir F. FLANNERYI will see that my right hon. Friend has the names in question.