§ 58. Mr. RAMSDENasked the Secretary of State for War the value of any foreign goods purchased during the last financial year by or on behalf of his Department, and what percentage this bears to the total purchases?
§ The FINANCIAL SECRETARY to the WAR OFFICE (Mr. Duff Cooper)The value of foreign goods purchased at headquarters during the last financial year was £250,648, or 3.40 per cent. of the total purchases. These figures include foodstuffs to the value of £72,453, and copper and timber to the value of £142,068, representing 98 per cent. and 1.93 per cent. of the total purchases respectively.
§ 65. Mr. RAMSDENasked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury the value of any foreign goods purchased by or on behalf of the Stationery Office during the last financial year; and what percentage this bears to the total purchases?
§ The FINANCIAL SECRETARY to the TREASURY (Mr. Arthur Michael Samuel)Exact information in reply to the first part of the question could only be obtained at the cost of a great deal of labour. A conjectural figure for the past financial year is £30,000—the same as for 1926—which would represent between 1 per cent. and 1½ per cent. of the total expenditure. Perhaps I may repeat the statement made to the hon. Member by my predecessor in answer to his question of 21st June, 1927. He stated that the practice of the Stationery Office is to confine purchases of foreign goods to articles which cannot be obtained of British make, such as foreign books and periodicals and certain office machinery and parts.