§ 64. Mr. Elwyn Jonesasked the Minister of Transport what action has been and is being taken by His Majesty's Government to discourage or prevent British shipowners from having their ships repaired in foreign dockyards, in view of unemployment among British ship-repairing workers.
§ Mr. BarnesBecause of the shortage of certain currencies, United Kingdom ships cannot carry out major repairs in hard currency countries without my prior approval, but, as I announced in December, they are free to carry out such repairs in soft currency countries because this is necessary for the competitive efficiency of British shipping. The decline in the numbers employed in United Kingdom shipyards is due to the completion of the 117W abnormal volume of work caused by the war, and cannot be affected by the relatively few British ships having major repairs abroad.