§ Mr. R. YOUNGasked the Secretary to the Admiralty if he will give a pledge to 770W this House that no further sale of any State property whatsoever, in the control of the Admiralty, will be made except by public auction; and if he will give full particulars of any sales which have so far been made, giving the conditions of the sales, names of purchasers, and the price obtained?
§ Dr. MACNAMARAAs regards war emergency land and buildings surplus to Government requirements, these will be disposed of by the Surplus Property Disposal Board at the request of the Admiralty. As regards other property surplus to the requirements of the Admiralty and available for disposal after the needs of other Government Departments have been satisfied, this is being and will continue to be disposed of to the utmost extent practicable by public auction, brokers' sales, or by tender. Property for sale has been widely advertised to secure the best competition. There are necessarily exceptional cases,e.g., arising out of the liquidation of contracts or where material is immediately utilisable, where it lies for industrial purposes, or where it is desirable to avoid congestion and cost of storage and transport. In many such cases disposal is most advantageously arranged by special negotiation. The Admiralty is working in co-operation with the disposal organisation of the Ministry of Munitions in this matter. The suggestion in the last, part of the question, apart from the very great detail involved, would appear to be of doubtful expediency having regard to the necessity of obtaining the best possible prices at sales not yet held. I would remind my hon. Friend that all these transactions come under the scrutiny of the Comptroller and Auditor-General, and are reported upon by him to the Public Accounts Committee.