HC Deb 24 March 1920 vol 127 cc415-6
74. Mr. W. CARTER

asked the Under-Secretary of State to the Air Ministry whether all the Government's surplus aircraft material has now been sold to the Aircraft Disposal Company, Limited; what was the price paid by the buying companies; whether there was a valuation of the material before it was sold; and, if so, what was the estimated value?

The FINANCIAL SECRETARY to the MINISTRY of MUNITIONS (Mr. James Hope)

I have been asked to answer this question All the Government surplus aircraft has been sold, the price being £1,000,000, plus 50 per cent. of the net profits realised by the purchaser on the sale of such material. No valuation in the ordinary sense of the term is possible, as the items involved have no definite ascertainable market value. The total stock of aircraft, which has already become or will become surplus, is sufficient to meet several times over the potential world demand for the next few years.