§ Mr. HORE-BELISHAasked the First Lord of the Admiralty what orders have been given for the laying down of ships in the shipbuilding programme of 1928; and if he will specify the names of the ships and the firms or Royal dockyards to which they have been allocated?
§ Lieut.-Colonel HEADLAMThe orders for the ships of the 1928 shipbuilding programme have not yet been placed. As indicated in the reply given to a question by the hon. Member for East Newcastle (Mr. Connolly) on 5th December [OFFICIAL REPORT, column 1193], the provision in the Estimates being based on the intention to order all these ships very late in the financial year, the orders are not due to be placed until February and March next and all our arrangements have been made on this basis. It is not customary to select names for ships until after the ships are ordered.