§ Mr. Arthur Lewisasked the Minister of State for Defence why, in view of the fact that they were not employed on military services, the cost of the labour of the officers, non-commissioned officers and men engaged on clearing refuse for the Tower Hamlets Council was not charged against this council for the 308¼ manhours that they were engaged; and whether in future when Servicemen are used for such purposes he will take steps to ensure that the employers who benefit from the use of such labour pay the full and inclusive cost.
§ Mr. Ian GilmourIn charging local authorities for the help of the Armed Services in these circumstances, it has136W been for many years the practice only to consider the extra costs. The local authorities do not save money by the use of troops. The charge is either the extra costs incurred by the Ministry of Defence or the full cost that the local authority would otherwise have paid, whichever is the greater. In this case the former applied.