§ Major P. Robertsasked the Minister of Defence what value of warships and war equipment generally has been disposed of since the end of hostilities to other nations, particularly India; and what payment has been received in return for such goods.
§ Mr. BellengerI have been asked to reply. The value of warships disposed of to other nations since the end of hostilities with Japan is about £9,850,000. Payments for these so far amount to about £4½ million, but many of the accounts have not yet been settled. I am unable to give a figure for the value of war equipment disposed of, or the price paid, for several reasons: some has been supplied on terms of deferred payment, some as unspecified parts of broad settlements; 87W some as a result of small local transactions not yet reported or not recorded in detail; and in many cases no distinction can be made between sales before and after the end of hostilities. A laborious investigation would be necessary before even approximate figures could be given. With regard to India, the bulk of the war equipment supplied since the end of the war consists of British-owned stores remaining in India on 1st April, 1947, when wartime financial arrangements came to an end. The final settlement for these stores awaits the conclusion of the negotiations on the Indian sterling balance.