§ 21. Mr. ASHLEYasked the First Commissioner of Works, in the case of contracts in his Department in which the terms are that the contractor is paid the cost of production plus a percentage on that cost, if he will state how many such contracts have been entered into and completed since the outbreak of War; what amount of money they represent; and what is the average percentage paid to the contractor?
§ The FIRST COMMISSIONER Of WORKS (Mr. Harcourt)Eight contracts on the basis of a percentage on the prime cost have been entered into by my Department in the period referred to, but no one of them is yet completed, so that I am unable to state the actual cost. The estimated cost varies from £200 in the case of an air defence station to nearly £700,000 in the case of the Woolwich housing scheme. It is not practicable to give an average percentage, but in the small contract it was 10 per cent, on materials and 25 per cent, on labour, and in the large contract 7½ per cent, for the houses and 6½ per cent, on the roads. The high percentage for the air defence station is due to the difficulty of access to the site
§ Mr. ASHLEYWill the right hon. Gentleman say what is the profit to the contractor on all this money which is being spent?
§ Mr. HARCOURTWhen the contract is completed I will endeavour to get an estimate.