Mr. W. John Stewartasked the First Lord of the Admiralty, whether he will give the total amount of contracts placed, or expenditure authorised, by his Department in the present financial year up to date, including that on the re-armament programme; and state as far as possible how much of this has been allocated to distressed areas?
§ Sir S. HoareThe total value of the contracts placed by the Admiralty direct with the private trade in the present financial year up to the 31st December amounted to £36,387,400, and of this amount the contracts placed in special and distressed areas accounted for £20,387,800. These figures do not include the sums authorised for expenditure by His Majesty's ships and naval establishments, the collection of which information would involve an undue amount of time and labour.