§ 30. Mr. Doddsasked the Minister of Supply what progress has been made in disposing of the 1,250,000 pairs of surplus boots from the War Department.
§ 33. Mr. Masonasked the Minister of Supply whether he has yet made any progress in the sales abroad of the 1,250,000 spare pairs of Army boots.
§ The Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Supply (Mr. W. J. Taylor)Forms of tender for approximately 650,000 pairs are now being issued for return on 20th April.
§ Mr. DoddsIs the hon. Gentleman aware that many people are deeply disturbed by the tremendous waste of public money, of which this is a glaring example? Can he state when information will be available so that we may know how much public money is being lost in this instance without anyone getting into trouble?
§ Mr. TaylorMy right hon. Friend is not responsible for the surpluses thrown up by the Service Departments. In answer to the latter part of the supplementary question, these boots were ordered a very long time ago and have been held in stock for a great length of time. It is almost impossible now to say who ordered them, or indeed, I should imagine, what was paid for them.
§ Mr. MasonCan the hon. Gentleman say how much longer the Ministry will carry the rest of this surplus stock? There 903 has obviously been a blunder in the purchase and a lack of initiative in getting rid of these boots, the Ministry having held them for over 12 months. If the Ministry cannot sell boots, how will it be able to sell redundant War Office mansions which are suffering from dry rot?
§ Mr. TaylorThe full quantity has not been declared to the Ministry of Supply by the Service Department concerned. Our first aim is to clear the depots as they become due for clearance.