§ Lieut.-Colonel JAMESasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether the British Rainfall Association was absorbed by the Meteorological Department during the War; whether he is aware that the work of this association was carried out by private enterprise from private funds; whether it is intended to adhere to the present arrangements; if it is considered that the results accruing from the Meteorological Department in the matter of weather forecasts are sufficiently accurate to justify its retention; and what is the annual cost of this Department?
Captain GUESTThe answer to the first four questions is in the affirmative, except that it was in July, 1919, that the organisation was absorbed; to the last, that the estimated cost of t(he entire Meteorological Department in 1921–22 is approximately £140,000. I would add that the Government's decision to take over the work of the rainfall organisation was due to its importance in connection with water supply, river conservancy, public health, etc., and to the fact that it had developed to such an extent that private enterprise could no longer support it. The Meteorological Department was taken over by the Air Ministry at the request of the Government, and it serves all other Departments of State.