asked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether he can state the financial results of the attempt to break up old warships in the State-owned dockyards?

Three destroyers and four submarines were broken up in the Royal yards between 1918 and the present year. The net proceeds have amounted to £24,798.

Is that after deducting all costs?

Yes. That is the profit. But these ships were broken up in the years immediately succeeding the War, when scrap was of considerable value. It is no longer so.

Even then, would it not be advisable to break up those small ships and give us some useful employment rather than let ships go to German breaking firms?

We have given every possible facility for ship-breaking firms to break up our ships. I have personally taken every possible means of doing so.

asked the Financial Secretary to the Admiralty what was the difference between the amount of the tender accepted for the breaking up in Germany of the battleship "Hibernia" and the highest tender for breaking up at home; and, in view of the large amount of unemployment amongst the shipyard workers in this country, will he see that in future such work is not sent abroad?

The "Hibernia" formed part of a block of ships sold a year ago to a British firm for breaking up in Germany at a time when the facilities in this country for breaking up capital ships were insufficient to cope with the immense number of vessels which the Admiralty had to get rid of. The prices obtainable from continental buyers are considerably higher than those paid in this country, but it has been the policy of the Admiralty to fill the shipbreaking yards in the United Kingdom to their utmost capacity. In order to relieve unemployment direct sales of ships have for some time been and will continue to be restricted generally to buyers who will undertake to break them up in this country.