§ 54. Flight-Lieutenant Boothbyasked the Minister of Supply whether his attention has been called to an advertisement now appearing weekly offering for sale British Army boots, well repaired with new best English leather soles and heels, at the price of 75s. per dozen pairs; and, in view of the difficulty of obtaining such boots in the Services, whether he will cause inquiries to be made?
§ Sir A. DuncanI have made inquiries and find that the boots in question were disposed of some months ago as unserviceable and unrepairable to Service standards. They have been repaired commercially with leather below Army quality, but are suitable for certain civilian uses. Under arrangements recently made no unserviceable Army boots are now disposed of through the trade and none have in fact been so disposed of since 14th April last. All reconditioning of Army boots is now done by the Ministry of Supply, either for return to the Army or for sale to the civilian trade under arrangements with the Board of Trade.
§ Flight-Lieutenant BoothbyCan the right hon. Gentleman explain why this advertisement continued to appear in the newspaper until the other day, and, as far as I know, it is still being continued?
§ Sir A. DuncanThese boots must be old supplies, if they are Army boots at all.