§ Sir F. SYKESasked the Secretary of State for Air the number of State-owned air stations disposed of after the War in Great Britain and the sums realised from their sale and that of the buildings erected thereon; the number of aerodromes in State occupation at the end of the War which have been handed back to the landowners; and the estimated value of the State-owned buildings thereon and the sum realised thereby?
§ Sir S. HOAREThe number of air stations relinquished since the termination of the War is 146, of which five, were disposed of to the Irish Free State, and three and two handed over to the War Office and the Admiralty respectively. The records of my Department do not enable me to state in how many cases the aerodromes were handed back to the landowners or disposed of to new purchasers. To obtain this information or that required by the other parts of my hon. and gallant Friend's question in regard to the sums realised and the estimated value of the buildings, would involve the systematic search of some hundreds of files and the detailed scrutiny of the records of the various sales, in some of which many different purchasers were concerned, and in the circumstances I do not think that the heavy labour involved would be justified.