§ 55. Mr. Hall-Caineasked the Minister for the Co-ordination of Defence whether, in view of the decision to import military aircraft from abroad in order to make good the deficiencies of aircraft supply in this country, it is proposed to take any steps to limit in future the export of British military aircraft; and what is the total number of military aircraft exported since 1st January this year?
§ Sir T. InskipI would refer my hon. Friend to the answer which I gave to my Noble Friend the Member for Peterborough (Lord Burghley) on 14th April which stated the procedure followed in dealing with applications for sale abroad and explained the various considerations of which account is taken in dealing with these applications. For the reasons indicated in that reply, the Government do not consider it desirable to impose a complete ban on the export of military aircraft from this country, but all applications are rigidly scrutinised in the light of Royal Air Force requirements by the committee which has been set up for this purpose. The total number of aircraft of military types exported by aircraft firms with Air Ministry permission during the period from 1st January to 30th April, 1938, was 106, of which only 13 were of the later types.