Major BRAITHWAITEasked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury how much money has been spent by Government departments on the purchase of foreign imports during the years 1928, 1929, 1930, and the first six months of 1931?
§ Major ELLIOTSuch purchases, except in the case of petroleum products, are small, as an effective preference is given to British goods where available. It would be impossible to give precise figures without great labour, but roughly the purchases apart from petroleum products may have been £700,000 in 1928, £500,000 to £600,000 in 1929 and 1930, and about £170,000 in the first six months of this year.