Mr. PALMERasked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Shipping Controller how much has been spent on concrete ships; what was the estimated cost of the building programme as originally decided and 636W what was saved by the intervention of his Department; how much has been spent on the national yards and what was the estimated cost of the original scheme; and has any estimate been made of the loss to the taxpayer on each of these War emergency ventures?
Colonel WILSONConcrete Shipbuilding.—The cost to complete the contracts originally placed under the original programme would have been at least £8,000,000; it is difficult to estimate what the realisable value of the 209 vessels would have been, but it certainly would not have reached £3,000,000. Under the policy adopted by the Shipping Controller when he took over this business, namely, to cancel all contracts unless construction of the vessel was in an advanced state, 143 contracts out of 209 were cancelled. The total expenditure to date, including outstanding liabilities, is about £3,850,000, and the net loss, after deducting realisable value, is likely to be between £2,500,000 and £3,000,000, as against a net loss of at least £5,000,000, and probably a good deal more if all the contracts had been completed.
National Shipyards.—As regards the National Shipyards, I would refer the hon. Member to the 4th Report of the Select Committee on National Expenditure, 1920, paragraphs 17 to 23, the 5th Report of that Committee for 1919, paragraphs 27 to 31, the 4th Report of that Committee for 1918, paragraphs 1 to 11.