THE EARL OF KINNOULLMy Lords, I beg to ask the Under-Secretary of State for War whether the recruits' receiving room at Queen's Barracks, Perth, is considered by the authorities as adequate and sanitary; whether a bath room is provided in these quarters separate from the bath accommodation for duly enlisted men; and whether a bathroom has been provided for the officers' quarters in Queen's Barracks but no bath, and no provision made for the supply of either cold or hot water.
§ THE EARL OF PORTSMOUTHMy Lords, in reply to the first two Questions of the noble Earl I may inform him that the matter of the 497 recruits' receiving room and the provision of a separate bathroom are at present under consideration, and we are in correspondence with the local military authorities on the subject. In reply to the other Question, the provision of a bath room for the officers' quarters has been approved if the necessary funds can be found from the annual allotment made to the General Officer commanding in the Scottish Command. The completion of the service is temporarily suspended, I am sorry to say, for want of funds, but every effort will be made to provide the necessary funds as soon as possible.
THE EARL OF KINNOULLThe reply to my last Question is hardly a complete Answer. What I wanted to elicit was why a bathroom had been allotted and other moneys spent on works in barracks which were never required and not asked for, and why a bathroom was provided but no bath. Perhaps the noble Earl can tell me when the funds will be found to provide the bath.
§ THE EARL OF PORTSMOUTHI can assure the noble Earl that the funds will be found as soon as possible.