§ 80. Brigadier-General SPEARSasked the Secretary of State for War whether a certificate guaranteeing the sufficiency of the Mowatt reserves of munitions will be given with the Army Estimates in 915 the coming year; whether such a certificate was given annually during the lifetime of the last Parliament; and, if not, whether he can make a statement to the House on the matter?
§ The FINANCIAL SECRETARY to the WAR OFFICE (Sir Victor Warrender)Since the War there have been no Mowatt reserves as such, and therefore no certificate in respect of them has been rendered. A certificate, however, guaranteeing the integrity of such war reserves as have actually been authorised by the Army Council to be accumulated up to the end of each financial year, has been, and will continue to be, rendered annually, not with the Army Estimates, but with the Appropriation Account. Page 53 of the 1933 Account shows its precise terms. This certificate is an accounting document giving an assurance that any reserve stocks actually provided by Parliament on earlier Army Estimates have not been dissipated in relief of later ones—it has no connection with the adequacy or otherwise of those stocks.