27. Brigadier Clarkeasked the Secretary of State for Air what is the value of Government stores and supplies, the property of his Department, that have been lost in transit on the railways each year since the railways were nationalised.
§ Mr. CrawleyA complete record of Air Ministry stores lost in transit on the railways is not maintained centrally and to obtain the information from all R.A.F. units would require considerable time and effort.
Brigadier ClarkeMay I have an assurance that the losses are credited to the Air Estimates and are not hidden in any way? If that is so, why is it that these losses cannot be stated, as the losses incurred last year must be known if they have been credited to the Air Force and debited to the railways?
§ Mr. CrawleyOur practice is a little different from that of other Ministries. We allow units to make their own claims. We find that it pays quite well. We get back a considerable proportion of stores and supplies which are credited.