§ 23. Mr. Doddsasked the Minister of Supply if he is aware of the concern at the recent sale of Government surplus stores at a public auction at Ruddington, Nottinghamshire, when new equipment which could be used by the Services was sold for £103,500 allowing substantial profits to dealers; and what were the principal items auctioned.
§ Mr. G. R. StraussNo, Sir. I would refer my hon. Friend to the statement I made in reply to Questions on 29th January last. The stores, which were practically all second-hand or obsolete, were mainly well-used items of contractors plant and second-hand clothing.
§ Mr. DoddsDoes my right hon. Friend appreciate that there is a good deal of disquiet about some of these sales of stores? Would he give more careful attention to this matter?
§ Mr. StraussI can assure my hon. Friend that a great deal of attention has been given to this problem, and that no stores have been sold which have not been checked and counter-checked by all the Service Departments to make sure that they are no use to them now and not likely to be of use to them in the future.
§ Mr. NabarroCan the right hon. Gentleman give an assurance that his answer to that supplementary question applies particularly to the disposal of machine tools, many of which are of great use to sub-contractors?
§ Mr. StraussYes, Sir.