§ 67. Mr. E. Smith,asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury whether he has considered the Second Report of the Committee of Public Accounts; what action has been taken to deal with the questions raised in the report, and, in particular, with Class III, Vote 2, pages 3, 4 and 5, which deal with the machinery of the Iron and Steel Federation and the Import Duties Advisory Committee and to the emphatic opinion that no industry should be exempt from an obligation to submit its costs to investigation by Government accountants; and whether he can make a statement on this report?
§ The Financial Secretary to the Treasury (Captain Crookshank)The report of the Public Accounts Committee is being considered. The conclusions reached will be communicated to the committee in due course by Treasury Minute under the usual procedure. The hon. Member will appreciate that, under present circumstances, all firms must disclose their costs if required to do so.