Mr. PRESTONasked the Secretary of State for War whether, when the safety razors are served out to the troops, they will be of the type which will permit stropping; if so, whether the soldiers will be supplied with the necessary strop on with the customary box machines for stropping; and, if not, whether the Army Council is taking into consideration the cost to private soldiers who will he compelled to buy new sets of blades every few weeks?
§ Sir L. WORTHINGTON-EVANSThe safety razor can be stropped: but strops were not supplied with the long-handled razors and will not be supplied with the safety razors. As regards the last part of the question, many soldiers, I believe, provided themselves in the past with safety razors at their own expense, and I do not think the free issue of the razor in the future will, generally speaking, cause any extra cost to the private soldier.
§ Sir F. SYKESasked the Secretary of State for War (1) whether his attention has been called to the fact that the Gillette plants and factories at Slough and Montreal are the property of an American company; that the registered capital of the English Gillette Company is no more than £6,000; whether these facts were included in the application of Gillette Safety Razors, Limited, to he placed on the War Office list; and, if not, and if the facts are correct, whether he 896W will cancel the present contract and re-open it to all British manufacturers;
(2) whether the recent War Office contract for razors and razor blades stipulates the use of British steel;
(3) whether it is still the practice of the War Office to place contracts with manufacturers and not with brokers, agents, or distributing firms: and, if so, whether this policy was carried out in the case of the recent order for safety razors and blades;
(4) whether the recent contract for razors was considered by the Services Contracts Co-ordinating Committee; whether all manufacturers supplying the Admiralty or Air Ministry with razors were invited to tender; what principles govern the submission of contract questions to the Co-ordinating Committee; and whether the maintenance of lists of manufacturers and the examination of claims to be placed on the list is carried out on behalf of the Co-ordinating Committee or is triplicated in the three Service Departments?
§ Sir L. WORTHINGTON-EVANSThe contract provides for the manufacture of the holders at Slough and the blades at Montreal. British steel only is being used. I understand that deliveries are now complete. The normal practice of the Department is to place contracts only with manufacturers, but when the manufacturer has a sole selling agent we are obliged to contract with that agent if we want to purchase the goods. Neither the Admiralty nor the Air Ministry purchases safety razors, and consequently neither Department possesses a list of manufacturers of this article. The contract was not considered by the Contracts Co-ordinating Committee. That Committee deals with all questions of general contract principle affecting the regulation and co-ordination of Navy, Army and Air Force purchases, but it does not itself consider the many thousands of separate contracts placed by the three Departments. Separate lists of manufacturers are maintained by each of the throe Departments, and applications from firms to he placed on those lists are examined by the Departments to which the applications are addressed. But the information obtained as to the capabilities of such firms is regularly exchanged between the three. Departments.