§ 67. Major Bruceasked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty whether he will state, in respect of each principal Royal Dockyard installation in Great Britain, the number of slips vacant at the present time capable of accommodating the construction of ships of over 1,000 tons; and what is his attitude to the construction of merchant ships in the Royal Dockyards.
§ Mr. W. EdwardsVacant slips in the principal Royal Dockyards in Great Britain capable of use for constructing ships over 1,000 tons are as follows:—Devonport 1, Portsmouth 1, Chatham 1. The Royal Dockyards in this country are 207W equipped primarily for warship repairs and are not laid out for extensive new construction. Nevertheless, the Admiralty are always willing to consider undertaking merchant new construction in any particular case provided it does not prejudice the main function of the dockyards, that is, the maintenance of the Fleet.
§ 68. Major Bruceasked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty, in respect of each principal Royal Dockyard installation in Great Britain, the number of berths at present vacant and capable of being used for the repair of merchant shipping.
§ Mr. W. EdwardsThere are at present no vacant repair berths in any of His Majesty's Dockyards in Great Britain.