Mr. WEST RUSSELLasked the President of the Board of Trade the number of British ships needing repair which have been sent, within the last 12 months, to foreign ports for this purpose rather than to British ports; and what are the reasons for this policy?
§ Mr. RUNCIMANI regret that the information asked for in the first part of the question is not available. As regards the second part, the decision as to the place of repair of vessels involves many factors, which can only be properly estimated by the ship managers. I understand that in recent months the tendency on economic grounds has been for repairs to be done in the United Kingdom to a greater extent than previously.