§ 9. Mr. SWANasked the First Lord of the Admiralty what has been the total expenditure on the Navy since the Armistice, exclusive of expenses of demobilisation, and showing separately, where possible, the expenditure on separate areas?
§ Sir J. CRAIGI apprehend that the hon. Member's question is directed towards ascertaining the expenditure on the maintenance of the Navy after making allowance, not only for demobilisation expenses, but for the liquidation of charges relating to the war period between the date of the Armistice and the present time. On this basis, the figure may be taken, on a rough approximation, as £154,000,000. I regret that, as the accounts of expenditure are kept under Services and not under areas, it would not be possible to allocate the figure over separate areas without an expenditure of time and labour which, under the present conditions of pressure at the Admiralty, would not be justified.