§ Sir T. WHITTAKERasked the Minister of Munitions what arrangements are being made to compensate persons for damage done to property by the recent explosion in Yorkshire and to whom claims should be sent; and what steps are being taken to remove the production and storage of explosives from the midst of districts where there is a considerable residential population?
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§ Dr. ADDISONI have been in communication with the occupiers of the works, and, without admitting that His Majesty's Government are liable, I am prepared to deal with and pay all reasonable claims by the public for damage caused outside the factory. Claims should be sent to the Ministry, at Broadway House, Tothill Street, Westminster. I may add that a scheme is being prepared under the Munitions (Liability for Explosions) Act, 1916, under which Government indemnities will be given on the terms arranged to all manufacturers of explosives against similar claims. With regard to storage in the cases referred to by the right hon. Gentleman, instructions have been given to limit the amount of explosives to the lowest possible working stock. The large new explosives factories which have been built are placed away from populous areas, but the demand for explosives is so enormous that even such factories, great as they are, are quite unable to produce all that is required.