§ 6. Mr. Silvermanasked the Minister of Economic Warfare whether any estimate has been made of the German war efforts; and the amount of loot gained at Dunkirk and France, and in the countries occupied by Germany?
§ Mr. DaltonYes, Sir. It is one of the duties of my Ministry to keep the German war effort, as well as the conditions of German industry, under constant review, and estimates of the German economic war potential are regularly made. In arriving at such estimates due regard is had to the loot gained at Dunkirk and elsewhere and to the resources of occupied territories now available to Germany.
§ Mr. SilvermanHas the Minister's attention been drawn to the survey re- 1558 cently published by several experts, which seems to suggest that our own war effort in regard to war production is still lagging behind that of Germany?
§ Mr. DaltonI am not departmentally responsible for our own war production.
§ Mr. ShinwellBut would the Minister make the information available to the House?
§ Mr. DaltonI would like notice of that Question, but I should think probably not.
§ Mr. ShinwellWhy not? Is it not in the public interest that we should have information of the German war effort?
§ Mr. DaltonNo, Sir, it may be against the public interest that such information as I have here should be broadcast. The last time I gave an account of my stewardship I gave it in private.
§ Mr. A. BevanBut is Germany not aware of the extent of her own war effort, and would it be conveying information to Germany if we published it?
§ Mr. DaltonIf my hon. Friend will put down the Question, I will endeavour to give it an answer, but at this stage I must not be committed to giving full answers in public sessions to the matters referred to in the latter part of my hon. Friend's Question.