Colonel NEWMANasked the Prime Minister whether his attention has been called to the fact that Command Paper No. 1368, recently issued by his instructions, fails to publish the balance sheet of the Ships' Stores and Salvage Branch of the late Ministry of Food; whether, if the balance sheet were published, a loss would be disclosed instead of the profit which should have accrued; and what steps will be taken to rectify this omission and when?
§ Sir W. MITCHELL-THOMSONI have been asked to reply. The Ships' Stores accounts of the Ministry of Food are included in the accounts of the Miscellaneous Section which disclose a credit balance of £2,750,000. I understand that a loss was sustained in respect of goods sold by the 441W Navy and Army Canteen Board on a falling market, but that in other respects the service was self-supporting.