§ Lieut.-Colonel Dowerasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether, after £100 has already been expended on war damage repairs without licence within 12 months and fresh war damage occurs, his Regulations permit further repairs to be carried out without licence.
§ Mr. HicksI have been asked to reply. Where the first aid repairs are carried out by the local authority—and these constitute the great majority of cases—no licence is required. Where, however, they are carried out by a private individual, Defence Regulation 56A requires that a licence shall be obtained beforehand unless the work is done in circumstances of emergency which rendered it impracticable to obtain a licence. I can assure the hon. Member that in all such cases the Ministry of Works will put a broad interpretation on what constitutes "circumstances of emergency," if they are informed as soon as practicable of the work that has been put in hand.