§ Mr. Westasked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether His Majesty's Government are prepared to make a further contribution towards the cost of repair of war damage in Malta in addition to that already approved by Parliament.
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Mr. Creech JonesNo. I take this opportunity of correcting a statement recently published in Malta implying that His Majesty's Government would be ready to make a further contribution. When the matter was raised with me in March this year by the Prime Minister of Malta and the Minister of Works and Reconstruction, I drew their attention to the statement made by my predecessor in the House of Commons on 9th July, 1946, when it was announced that in addition to the sum of £10 million already approved, His Majesty's Government would, in fulfilment of the promise of further assistance given in 1942, make a grant of a further £20 million. As my predecessor then explained, it was decided in the interests of all concerned that the best course was to fix a total sum to be made available for expenditure on the restoration of war damage and reconstruction. His Majesty's Government regard the total amount of £31 million (including interest on the first £1 million) already voted by Parliament as being a full and final discharge of their undertakings to Malta in this matter.