HC Deb 09 April 1965 vol 710 cc107-11W
Mr. Dodds

asked the Secretary of State for Defence for what purpose the 420 pocket watches offered for sale at the public auction at Rotherwas, Hereford, on 4th March 1965 were purchased; how many were sold; and how the price realised compared with the purchase price.

Mr. Mulley

The pocket watches, 200 of which were sold, were purchased for general Service use. It is not possible to compare the price realised with the purchase price as the watches were purchased before or during the war and their original cost is not known.

Mr. Dodds

asked the Secretary of State for Defence why 3,238 pairs of boots and shoes were declared surplus and offered for sale at the public auction at Rotherwas, Hereford, on 4th March, 1965; and how many pairs were new.

Mr. Mulley

They had all been used and were no longer serviceable.

Mr. Dodds

asked the Secretary of State for Defence why 1,395 large white blankets and 434 small white blankets were offered as surplus stock at the public auction at Rotherwas, Hereford, an 4th March, 1965; why they were not retained in stock for future use; how many were new; how many were disposed of at the auction; and how the selling price compared with the purchase price.

Mr. Mulley

The blankets, all of which were sold except 150 of the small ones, were offered for sale because they were not serviceable. The large ones cost £2 9s. each and the small ones £1 15s. each: it is not usual to give details of prices realised.

Mr. Dodds

asked the Secretary of State for Defence what was the average purchase price of 12,300 canvas tool holdalls and 3,340 50 ft. linen measuring tapes, and what was the average price obtained at the auction sale at Wem, Shropshire, on 25th February, 1965; and why they were offered for sale as surplus to requirements instead of being retained for further use or utilised by other Departments or public bodies.

Mr. Mulley

The canvas tool holdalls, which cost on average £2 each, were part of the equipment schedule of the 40 mm. L60 AA Gun which became surplus to requirements when the main equipment was declared obsolete. They were offered for sale after having been offered, together with the Guns, to other Governments and to Crown Agents but not to other Departments or public bodies because they were of a type peculiar to the L60 AA Gun. The linen measuring tapes, which cost on average £1 2s. 6d. each, were of wartime stock and surplus to requirements. They were offered for sale after having been offered to other Government Departments.

It is not usual to give details of prices realised.

Mr. Dodds

asked the Secretary of State for Defence what were the principal lines and quantities of surplus goods offered at the public auction at Rotherwas, Hereford, on 4th March; and why they were not retained for further use.

Mr. Mulley

They included platform and kitchen scales, canteen equipment, office and domestic furniture, bedding, clothing and footwear, watches, electronic instruments and wireless sets, tentage, tent poles and scrap canvas, used tyres, motor vehicle spares, armoured petroleum hose, tractors and road works plant. Most of the Army stores which were offered were not serviceable: the others were surplus to requirements.

Mr. Dodds

asked the Secretary of State of State for Defence why saloon and estate cars, vans, trucks, motor cycles, batteries and tyres were offered for sale at a public auction at Hurlford, near Kilmarnock, on 11th March; and why they were not retained for further use or purchased by another Department.

Mr. Mulley

The military vehicles, batteries and tyres offered for sale were all beyond economical repair. They were not offered to other Departments because of their condition.

Mr. Dodds

asked the Secretary of State for Defence what types of machine tools were offered for sale at the public auction at Hurlford, near Kilmarnock, on 11th March; in what way they had been used; and why it was decided to dispose of them instead of retaining them for further use.

Mr. Mulley

The tools are as listed below. Some, which were owned by the Ministry of Aviation, were used in aeroengine producton, others, owned by the Ministry of Labour, in Industrial Rehabilitation Units, and the rest were used for maintenance in factories and on board ship. They were disposed of because of their age and condition.

  • Holden and Hunt Spot Welder. 25/40 KVA. 400 vt. 50 cycles with B.T.H. Control Panel.
  • Maserati Vertical Milling Machine. Type V.900 4' 9" x 1' 2" Table. 400/3/50. (2).
  • Milwaukee No. 1 Plain Horizontal Milling Machine. Model H. 3' 6" x 10" Table. 400 / 3 / 50.
  • Pollard Corona 0–½" Gap Pillar Drilling Machine. 400/3/50.
  • Pollard Corona Model 15.HF. ¼" Bench Drilling Machine. 400 /440 / 3 /50.
  • Rapidor 6"Hacksaw. 14" Blade with 3 h.p. Motor. 400/440/3/50.
  • White Twin Wheeled Pedestal Grinding Machine. Motorised.
  • Hand Operated Wood Trimming Guillotine.
  • Sagar Circular Saw Grinding Machine. Motorised. 400 / 3 / 50.
  • Hand Operated Universal Wood Trimming Guillotine.
  • Stenner Dimension Saw Grinding Machine with Moving Back. Motorised.
  • Churchill Redman Cub Lathe. 6" Centre. 220 vt. D.C.
  • Mikron 102 Gear Hobbing Machine. Motorised. 220 vt. D.C.
  • Lang 6½" Gap Bed Lathe. 220 vt. D.C.
  • Benson Belt Driven Universal Milling Machine. 1' 6" x 5" Table.
  • Pollard Pedestal Drill. Model 1.AY.220 vt. D.C.
  • Parkson Universal Milling Machine. 4' x 10" Table. 220 Vt. D.C. with Two Boxes of Spares.
  • Luke and Spencer Single Wheel Wet Emery Grinder, Motorised.
  • Black and Decker Valve Grinding Machine, with Spares. 200/250 vt. A.C.
  • Elliot 6½" S.S. & S.C. Lathe. 3' 6" B.C. 400/440/3/50.
  • Harrison 4½" Lathe. 220 vt. D.C.
  • Drummond 3½" Centre Lathe. 220 vt. D.C. Pollard Corona. Model 15.XC. Drilling Machine. 220/240 vt. D.C.
  • Soag Simplex 6½" Centre Lathe. Light Duty. 440 vt. A.C. (2).
  • Wickstead Hacksawing Machine. 14" Blade. 220 vt. D.C.
  • Hand Operated Punch.
  • Hand Operated Shears.
  • Coil Winding Machine.
  • Maudsley Welding Generator. 220 vt. D.C. Pollard 26" Sensitive Drilling Machine. 220 vt. D.C. (2)
    • 110
  • Skatoskalo Air Driven Flexible Drive Cleaning Machine.
  • Jones and Shipman Bench Drilling Machine. ½" Cap. 220 vt. D.C.
  • Edgwick No. 2 Universal Milling Machine. 3' 9" x 10" Table with Spares. 220 vt. D.C.
  • Parkson Universal Milling Machine. 3' 9" x 10" Table with Dividing Head and Spares. 220 vt. D.C.
  • Town 3' 6" Radial Drill 220 vt. D.C.
  • Ward and Haggas Smith 8" Centre Gap Bed Lathe. 6' B.C.220 vt. D.C. with Accessories.
  • Luke and Spencer D.E. Motorised Emery Grinding Machine. 16" Wheels. 220 vt. D.C.
  • Kitchen and Wade Type MVAX 2' 6" Radial Drilling Machine 700 r.p.m. Motor. 220 vt. D.C.
  • Lumsden D.E. Motorised Grinding Machine. 14" Wheels. 400/440 vt. A.C.
  • Jones and Shipman 15" Sensitive Drilling Machine with Table Vice. 220 vt. D.C.
  • Churchill Universal Grinding Machine, with Accessories. 220 vt. D.C.
  • Lang 6½" Centre Lathe with Gap Bed. 3' 6" B.C. 220 vt. D.C.
  • Kitchen and Wade 2' 6" Radial Drilling Machine. 240 vt. D.C.
  • Ward No. 7 Combination Turret Lathe. 440 vt. with Spares.
  • Ward 6" No. 2A Turret Lathe 400/3/50.
  • Richards Adjustable Head Horizontal Boring Machine. 220 vt. D.C.
  • Kearns Heavy Duty Adjustable Head Horizontal Boring Machine. 200 vt. D.C.
  • Lang 6½" Gap Bed Lathe. 200 vt. D.C.
  • Ward Haggas and Smith 8" Gap Bed Centre Lathe. 220 vt. D.C. with Accessories.
  • Swift 10" S.S. & S.C. Gap Bed Lathe. 220 vt. D.C.
  • Swift 8½" S.S. & S.C. Gap Bed Lathe. 220 vt. D.C.
  • Richards Adjustable Head Horizontal Boring Machine. 220 vt. D.C.
  • Parkson Universal Milling Machine. 5' x 10" Table. 220 vt. D.C.

Mr. Dodds

asked the Secretary of State for Defence how many boots were offered for sale at the surplus goods auction at Hurlford on 11th March; how many pairs were new; how much they cost; and how much they realised.

Mr. Mulley

2,008 pairs, all of which had been used except 18 pairs of motorcyclist's boots which had become surplus to requirements because of a considerable reduction in the number of motorcycles in use. Most of the boots cost £1 15s. a pair and the motor-cyclist's boots cost £2 9s. 6d. a pair. It is not usual to give details of prices realised.

Mr. Dodds

asked the Secretary of State for Defence if he will place in the Library copies of communications sent to other Departments giving details of the surplus goods available before a decision was taken to dispose of them at the public auction at Hurlford, near Kilmarnock.

Mr. Mulley

No. It is contrary to established practice to disclose interdepartmental communications outside official circles.

Mr. Dodds

asked the Secretary of State for Defence if he will give details of the miscellaneous stores offered for sale at the public auction at Barlow, Selby, on 16th March; and how these were offered to other Departments before a decision was made to dispose of them at Barlow.

Mr. Mulley

The stores offered included office, domestic and canteen furniture, bedding, floor coverings, cutlery, hand tools, motor vehicles spares, used tyres, clothing, bench tools, a small number of portable electrical tools and instruments and some wooden transit cases. They were not offered to other Departments because they were not serviceable.

Mr. Dodds

asked the Secretary of State for Defence if he will give the number of new white blankets and new pairs of leather boots or shoes offered at public auction; of surplus goods from 1st January, 1964, up to the latest convenient date.

Mr. Mulley

No new white blankets have been offered. Ten thousand five hundred and eighty-five pairs of unused leather boots and shoes, mostly of special types such as anti-mosquito boots, ski boots, and motor cyclists' boots bought during the 1939–45 War, were offered after having been offered to other Government Departments.