asked the President of the Board of Trade why permission has been given for an expenditure of £15,000 to enlarge the Coniston private hotel, Sittingbourne, at a time when building trade labour and materials are in short supply, and when the local authority has over 900 applicants on its housing list.

I am satisfied from its record and prospects, that this hotel will, when extended, attract a considerable number of overseas visitors. The work on the hotel has had no adverse effect on the number of houses being built in Sittingbourne.