§ Mr. D. Priceasked the Minister of Supply what steps have been taken by his Department to encourage the development in this country of earth-moving and construction plant, and to ensure that the Armed Forces are equipped with British machines.
§ Mr. Aubrey JonesBy testing crawler tractors in the early stages of their manufacture in this country, the Military Engineering Experimental Establishment of the Ministry of Supply has done much to encourage their development and design. Similarly, and by means of development contracts, graders, scrapers, truck-mounted excavators and soil stabilization plant have been developed, primarily for the Services. Most of these machines have found a commercial market, and have been exported to the value of about £2 million annually. The Services have at the same time been able to replace many of their war-time foreign machines by modern ones of British design and manufacture.