§ 74. Mr. R. Gibsonasked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether he has considered the letter forwarded to him by the town clerk of Greenock regarding inadequate supply of emergency clothing for naval personnel; and whether he has any statement to make on the subject?
§ The Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty (Sir Victor Warrender)Yes, Sir. Naval authorities are given the widest latitude for purchasing locally clothing to meet the needs of naval survivors. In this particular instance the public assistance authorities, who were known to hold large stocks of clothing, were approached as a precautionary measure. Fortunately it was possible to meet the needs of naval survivors from other sources, and most of the clothing received from the public assistance authorities was returned. It is not the policy to keep large stocks of emergency clothing, and the attention of all Naval Officers in Charge is being drawn to their powers of purchase under existing regulations.
§ Mr. GibsonMay we take it that the question of recompense to the public assistance authorities is being attended to?
§ Sir V. WarrenderPublic assistance authorities have been thanked for all they are doing.