HC Deb 13 June 1927 vol 207 cc673-4
36. Colonel DAY

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury the cost of lead pencils per dozen supplied to the various Departments under his control and the country where these pencils are made?

Mr. McNEILL

Lead pencils supplied to Government Departments are purchased by competitive tenders, and these circumstances, as the hon. Member will appreciate, it is undesirable that the prices paid should be disclosed. Apart from stocks of copying pencils which formed part of foreign supplies obtained during the War, and certain proprietary brands which are occasionally required for special purposes, the pencils supplied to the public service are manufactured in the United Kingdom.

Colonel DAY

Can the right hon. Gentleman say whether the pencils supplied to Judge Crawford at Edmonton County Court were supplied in the United Kingdom?