§ Mr. Emrys Hughesasked the Minister of Supply if he will give an estimate of the extent to which the cost of the rearmament programme is likely to be affected by the increased cost of steel.
§ Mr. SandysIt is estimated that the increase in the price of steel approved in August, 1951, will raise the cost of steel used directly in the whole re-armament programme by approximately £20 million. The higher price of steel will also increase the cost of machine tools and other plant used to produce defence equipment, but it is not possible to estimate by how much.