§ 5. Mr. Boydenasked the Civil Lord of the Admiralty why, following the merger of the Admiralty Works Services with the Ministry of Public Building and Works, his Department retained control of maintenance work on dockyard basins whilst handing over the dredging fleet to the Ministry of Public Building and Works.
§ Mr. HayI regret that the hon. Member is misinformed. Responsibility for maintenance of basins including dredging of them was handed over to Ministry of Public Building and Works along with responsibility for other building and civil engineering work. The Admiralty remains responsible for the caissons because they are akin to ships and are built and repaired by shipwrights.
§ Mr. BoydenPerhaps I am misinformed as to detail, but does the hon. Gentleman recollect that on Monday he said how important it was that the admiral superintendent should have full control of all the operations in the dockyard? How does he reconcile that with 357 parting with half of the operations in the dockyards to another Department, thus complicating the control of the dockyard in this respect?
§ Mr. HayI can reconcile it by saying that the system as operated appears to be working jolly well. If it were not, I have no doubt that we should want to make some changes.
§ Mr. C. PannellThe Civil Lord can be very jolly about this sort of business, but does he appreciate that everything which has been done in the civilianisation of the three Services—the Admiralty, War Office and Air Ministry—seems to bear the impression of improvisation and of very little consideration having been given to the matter before the event? Will the hon. Gentleman familiarise himself with the take-over and transfer to the Ministry of Public Building and Works so that we can ask him some Questions which he can answer with fuller knowledge of the facts?
§ Mr. HayI am fairly fully acquainted with the facts, although, as I said the other day, all these events happened before my time. The position simply is that this change has taken place. From all accounts that I have heard, it appears to be working extremely well. If there were any doubt in the minds of any of the Service Departments, I have no doubt that they would wish changes to be made.
§ 6. Mr. Boydenasked the Civil Lord of the Admiralty when the decision was taken to transfer the main part of the Admiralty Works Services to the Ministry of Public Building and Works.
§ Mr. BoydenIs it not a fact that the Admiralty resisted this change to the bitter end and that when the other two works services were taken over, the Admiralty still had not concluded its negotiations with the Ministry of Public Building and Works? Is this not the reason for the soppy arrangement which still persists, which the hon. Gentleman says is working well but which appears to be thoroughly ill conceived and to be working far from satisfactorily for the other Services?