§ Mr. Clitherowasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he is proposing to ask fire insurance companies to contribute a quota towards the cost of the fire services in accordance with the practice which was in operation prior to the nationalisation of the fire service.
§ Mr. EdeThe contributions to which my hon. Friend refers were made only under a few local Acts and those contributions are still being made.
§ Mr. Clitherowasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he is in a position to indicate the strength of the fire service in Great Britain prior to the outbreak of war; and to indicate the proposed postwar strength of the N.F.S., assuming it to be under Government control.
§ Mr. EdeI regret that complete statistics of the prewar Fire Service are not available, and I am not yet in a position to say what the ultimate postwar strength will be.