§ 65. Mr. L'ESTRANGE MALONEasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer the capital sums to be expended during the year ending 31st March, 1931, in respect to works put in hand under Parts I and II of the Development (Loans, Guarantees and Grants) Act, 1929, and the Colonial Development Act, 1929, for which the Exchequer obligations are stated to be, in respect of the Development Act, 1929, Part I, £200,000, Part II, £2,200,000, and of the Colonial Development Act, 1929, £750,000?
§ The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER (Mr. Philip Snowden)The total expenditure in the current financial year in respect of schemes approved under Part I of the Development Act, including expenditure by contractors, is estimated at between £6 millions and £7 millions. Corresponding information is not collected in respect of schemes under Part II as it is possible in regard to these to obtain periodical returns of the labour directly employed. Under the Colonial Development Act the estimated total cost of all schemes so far approved is £8,600,000. Of this between £3 millions and £4 millions are to be spent in this country and contracts to the amount of over £1½ millions have up to the present been placed; but it is not possible to say how much under either head will actually be spent before the 1st April next.