HC Deb 13 March 1924 vol 170 cc2564-5W
Major HORE-BELISHA

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty what national ships are under construction or under repair in private yards and what sums have been and are still payable from the national Exchequer to private firms in respect of the same; what national ships it is contemplated to build in the near future in the private yards and the approximate payments that will be made in respect of the same; whether he will state in respect of the above which, if any, of the above ships could not have been built or repaired in the Royal dockyards, with or without alterations to the plant; and, if alterations to the plant had been necessary and undertaken, to how many men in the Royal dockyards would employment have been given?

Mr. AMMON

H.M.S. "Rodney" and "Nelson" are under construction in private yards at an estimated total cost of £14,000,000, of which about £3,170,000 has been paid. The Government's proposals for new naval construction have already been stated to the House, but definite figures of the cost of the ships concerned cannot be given till the contracts have been placed. The vessels referred to in the first and second parts of my reply could not, generally speaking, have been built in the Royal yards without considerable alterations to building slips, etc., which would take some years to carry out. A battleship building in the dockyard would employ an average of about 1,500 men for four years, and a cruiser an average of about 750 men for 3½ years.

Major HORE-BELISHA

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty why it is contemplated building cruisers in private yards when adequate building facilities exist at the Royal dockyards?

Mr. AMMON

All reasonable use is intended to be made of the building facilities at the Royal yards. It has never been the policy of the Admiralty to undertake all their ship construction in these yards.