§ 4. Mr. George Wardasked the Secretary of State for Air whether he will state the number of square miles air-surveyed by the R.A.F. since January, 1946.
§ Mr. A. HendersonThe number is 589,000.
§ Sir W. WakefieldCan the Secretary of State say where most of that has been done—in what part of the world?
§ Mr. HendersonYes, Sir. In East Africa, 295,000 square miles; in the United Kingdom, 165,000.
§ Mr. Lennox-BoydDoes that figure represent the total area that needed to be surveyed or only the total area the Royal Air Force was able to survey? If the case is the latter, why were not private surveying firms given the chance of contracting for the work?
§ Mr. HendersonThe Royal Air Force has been asked, in the case of East and West Africa, to undertake this task by the Colonial Office, so that that question had better be addressed to my right hon. Friends the Colonial Secretary.