§ 78. Commander BELLAIRSasked the Under-Secretary of State for Air whether any estimate has been formed as to the relative cost to the country of proposals for nationalised building and equipping air-ship routes, rendering equivalent service, as compared with the subsidy proposals of the Burney air-ship scheme, excluding all losses from Income Tax which would have been levied and from absence of orders to build for foreign countries; and, if so, can he give the comparative figures?
§ Mr. LEACHAs stated by the Prime Minister on Monday last, a special Sub-Committee of the Cabinet has been appointed to examine and report on the air-ship question. I am unable to say whether the problem will present itself to the Sub-Committee in such a way as to entail the preparation of estimates of comparative costs based on equivalent services under two different schemes. No estimates of the sort are in existence.
§ Viscount CURZONWill the hon. Gentleman exercise his influence with the special Sub-Committee which is considering the scheme to see that it does not unduly delay matters and comes to a decision soon?