§ 86. Mr. Toucheasked the Secretary of State for War whether he is aware that building materials needed by civilian builders have been left to waste in the open at the R.E. depot at Horley; what action he has taken in the matter; and what steps are being taken to prevent similar examples of wastage of building materials and public money.
§ Mr. BellengerThe great bulk of the building material at Horley has been declared surplus to Army requirements and is in process of disposal by the Departments concerned. The War Office is making every effort to release surplus items in Army depots with the minimum of delay, particularly where they are needed by the civil market. The total quantity involved is very large, however, and the shortage of manpower and repair capacity necessarily prolongs the process. Every endeavour is made to prevent deterioration but the limited amount of storage space at our disposal forces us to store more equipments in the open than we would wish.