§ 23. Captain P. MACDONALDasked the President of the Board of Trade what is the amount of payments made up to date under the British Shipping (Assistance) Act; and what is the amount of tonnage in respect of which assistance has been applied for under the scrapping and rebuilding provisions thereof?
§ The PRESIDENT of the BOARD of TRADE (Mr. Runciman)The answer to the first part of the question is £348,363, which is within about £1,000 of the total amount allocated for distribution in respect of the first quarter of the subsidy year. As regards the second part, 24 applications for assistance have been received up to the present. These cover proposals to build 36 vessels aggregating 123,000 tons gross, including 11 small vessels aggregating 8,000 tons gross.