§ 49. Mr. Brockwayasked the Secretary of State for War for how many persons the barracks of the Guards Brigade at Pirbright Camp, Surrey, has been built; how many are in residence; and what has been the cost per person per week of heating the premises during the recent cold weather.
§ Mr. ProfumoPirbright Camp can accommodate 2,300 all ranks. The total working strength of the camp is at the moment some 1,900. The cost per person per week of heating the barracks during the period 1st to 24th January was about 14s.
§ Mr. BrockwayMay I congratulate the right hon. Gentleman on keeping the cost so low in view of our own experience of the great increase of domestic costs? But may I ask him, in view of the great difference between the estimated number to be at these barracks and those who 941 are actually at these barracks, whether there was not some miscalculation in its construction?
§ Mr. ProfumoNo. I am grateful to the hon. Member for what he has said, but we practise the utmost economy in all sections of the Army. [HON. MEMBERS: "Oh."] We certainly have not made any miscalculation about the troops at Pirbright. There are several companies of the Guards battalions in central London who frequently go to Pirbright for training, and accommodation has to be kept ready for them, but we have not been heating any part of the camp which has not been used.