§ Sir R. GOWERasked the First Lord of the Admiralty what amount has been spent in repair and alteration work to the Royal Naval Dockyard at Chatham during the past six months; what proportion of that work has been done by the dockyard staff and private firms, respectively; and whether any firms carrying on business outside the Chatham, Gillingham, and Rochester district have been so employed and, if so, why?
§ Mr. AMMONThe amount spent in repair and alteration work to the Royal Naval Dockyard during the six months from August, 1929, to February, 1930, was £59,122. Of this amount £51,535 was in respect of work carried out Depart-mentally and £7,587 for work done by contract. Only a small amount of work, which was of a specialist nature costing £l,287, was carried out by firms outside the Chatham, Gillingham, and Rochester district.