§ 34 and 35. Sir T. Mooreasked the Minister of Supply (1) how many W.D. vehicles have been disposed of since VJ-Day; and how many of these have been applied for and acquired by ex-Servicemen;
(2) whether he proposes to give priority to ex-Servicemen to acquire W.D. disposal vehicles before any are offered to the civilian public.
§ Mr. WilmotSeventeen thousand W.D. vehicles, of which only 200 were of private car types, have been disposed of since V J-Day. Motor cars which are reconditioned are allocated by my right hon. Friend the Minister of Transport to badly disabled ex-Servicemen. But there Is, I am sorry to say, a long list of disabled men waiting for these cars, and it would not be right to include others at the present time.
§ Sir T. MooreThe Minister has not answered my Question. I asked whether he would arrange for priority to be given to ex-Servicemen in the purchase of these cars. In view of the fantastic prices that now prevail—witness the scramble at Missenden—few ex-Servicemen can afford to purchase these cars. Will the Minister take steps to give some possibility of prior purchase to ex-Servicemen before the general public?
§ Mr. WilmotI thought I had explained before that it is not possible or desirable to give priorities in a public auction. Before these auctions are held, we try to get out all the cars which are suitable for reconditioning, and all those cars which are reconditioned through the trade scheme are, in fact, allocated by my right hon. Friend to ex-Servicemen, or, I think, to other claimants—midwives and nurses. There are so many ex-Servicemen who want these cars that my right hon. Friend allocates them first to disabled ex-Servicemen, and until he satisfies the requirements of such disabled men, it would be foolish to open the lists to other men.