§ Major Lyonsasked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of War Transport the administrative expenses per ton mile on vehicles directly hired by his Department in connection with the road haulage scheme; and how this cost compares with the figure of .137 of a penny per ton mile which he recently gave as the administrative charges for traffic carried in chartered vehicles?
§ Mr. Noel-BakerThe figure of .137 of a penny per ton mile given in the reply which I made to my hon. and gallant Friend on 7th October represents the estimated administrative charges of my Department in respect of traffic other than meat and livestock carried in all vehicles under the road haulauge scheme, whether chartered or hired direct by my Department or through the hauliers' national traffic pool. I regret that in my previous answer I limited the application of this figure to chartered vehicles. The figure does not include the expenses of the pool, for which an estimated addition of .061 of a penny per ton mile must be made.