§ 2.47 p.m.
§ LORD DERWENTMy Lords, I beg to ask the Question which stands in my name on the Order Paper.
§ [The Question was as follows:
§ To ask Her Majesty's Government what quantity of home-grown timber was bought by Government Departments during the twelve months ended 31st December, 1958, other than timber grown by the Forestry Commission; and what quantity of imported timber was bought by Government Departments during the same period.]
§ THE MINISTER WITHOUT PORTFOLIO (THE EARL OF DUNDEE)My Lords, I regret that the information requested by the noble Lord is not available.
§ LORD DERWENTMy Lords, that being the case, may I ask my noble friend two supplementaries? First, has he not got any figures at all that will help in this matter? Secondly, have Government 376 Departments received any instructions to buy home-grown timber when it is suitable in price and quality?
§ THE EARL OF DUNDEEMy Lords, I am sorry that the information is not available, because I am sure it would have been interesting. But most Government Departments, when they buy timber, either buy it through local and regional organisations or, if they buy it centrally, through the contractor to whom the contract is let out at the lowest tender; and as a rule there are not any records kept analysing the timber by reference to the people who grew it.
Since my noble friend's Question has afforded a considerable amount of exercise to a large number of Government Departments, he may perhaps like to hear a few figures which I have managed to extract from the Air Ministry and the Post Office. The Air Ministry last year bought 187 standards of home-grown timber at a price of £13,000, and 1,107 standards of imported timber at a cost of £96,000. A great deal of that, of course, was for constructional work on R.A.F. overseas stations, which are a long way from this country. In regard to the Post Office, whose principal timber purchases are in the form of telegraph poles, I have the exact numbers: imported, 101,920, at a cost of £354,000; home-grown suppliers, other than the Forestry Commission, 9,422, at a cost of £26,000 odd, and Forestry Commission, exactly 1,900, at a cost of £4,600.
With regard to the second supplementary, it would not be reasonable, I think, to issue any positive instructions to Government Departments. But most Government Departments are willing to give preference to home-grown timber supplies when it is reasonable and practicable to do so, and if my noble friend knows of any cases where it is not being done, possibly through lack of knowledge, I think the right body for him to approach would be the Home-Grown Timber Advisory Committee, which exists for the purpose of advising the Government on this kind of subject and of which I used to be a member until last year.
§ LORD DERWENTMy Lords, I thank my noble friend for the trouble he has taken to provide the information in answer to my supplementary questions.