§ Mr. Albuasked the Secretary of State for War what percentage by value of direct purchases and maintenance work required by his Department is at present 66W carried out, respectively, by Service establishments and by private firms.
§ Mr. SoamesAbout 97 per cent. of Army equipment is bought through the Ministry of Supply or other Government Departments and the remainder direct from private firms. Production in Army establishments is negligible. In the United Kingdom, Army establishments undertake about 80 per cent. of repairs to military equipment. A very small proportion, mainly boot repairs, is done by civilian firms and the balance through the agency of the Ministry of Supply. Overseas our repairs are done almost entirely by the Army.