§ Squadron-Leader Flemingasked the President of the Board of Trade whether 296W he is aware of the long delay between the time of offering for sale surplus Government cloths, such as linings, and the subsequent delivery under contract by British Overseas Cottons, Limited, to the merchant converters in the Manchester area; and what steps are being taken to expedite delivery of these goods from Government stores.
§ Sir S. CrippsThe cloths declared surplu to Government requirements were stored in a large number of depots and factories in all parts of the country. Before any particular arising of lining cloth or other material can be distributed to merchant converters, it has to be collected together from these many stores, examined, sorted and divided into individual allocations. This work necessarily involves time, and the time needed has been increased on account of difficulties in securing sufficient trained labour and transport for the purpose. Adequate warehousing space was also difficult to acquire in the Manchester area. None the less. 30 million yards of piece goods, 150,000 items of household textiles and 20 tons of nylon scrap have already passed through British Overseas Cottons, and the rate of handling these goods has been greatly speeded up in recent weeks. No opportunity for effecting a further improvement will be overlooked.