§ 43. Mr. SHORTasked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Munitions whether, since the Armistice, any contributions have been paid or are due to be paid to certain firms because of the absence of a break clause in their contracts; and, if so, whether he will state the nature and total of such contribution?
§ The DEPUTY-MINISTER of MUNITIONS (Mr. Kellaway)Owing to the length of the answer, my hon. Friend the financial Secretary is circulating a statement in the OFFICIAL REPORT.
The following is the statement referred to:
With regard to War Contracts for Munitions placed with home manufacturers, only two claims amounting to £92,300, due to the absence of a break clause have been put forward, and these are still under consideration. In at least one of these cases it is probable that supplies would not have been obtained if the break clause had been insisted upon.
Since the Armistice a certain number of contracts for aircraft supplies, which were not subject to break clauses, were cancelled owing to the curtailment of the aircraft programme. The liquidation of these will involve compensation to an amount not yet finally settled.
26 In the case of one group of contracts placed overseas, through the agency of Colonial and other Governments, for the whole Empire supply of wolfram, the producers refused to accept the break clause. This entailed additional expenditure estimated at £450,000.