Oral Answers to Questions — Royal Navy. – in the House of Commons at on 14 May 1924.
Major Hugh Meyler
, Blackpool
asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty whether the Admiralty printing works at Cricklewood, on which large sums of public money have been expended, is producing work solely for Admiralty use; whether any portion of the work producer has been sold for use in the mercantile marine; and, if so, whether the Government will take steps to prevent such competition with private enterprise in the printing trade?
Mr Charles Ammon
, Camberwell North
The Admiralty Chart Establishment, Cricklewood, produces Admiralty Charts both for His Majesty's ships and sale to the mercantile marine and public generally. A very small quantity of other lithographic printing is produced for other Government Departments where this can be economically undertaken without prejudice to Admiralty requirements. With regard to the last part of the question, I fail to see how the sale of Admiralty charts to the mercantile marine involves competition with private enterprise, since these charts are based on the results of surveys by His Majesty's ships and other hydrographic material accumulated by the Admiralty, and no private firm has the data from which to produce similar charts. If, however, the hon. and gallant Member is alluding to the general policy of the Government establishing its own factories for carrying out printing and other kindred processes, I would remind him that this question is at present under the consideration of a Committee presided over by the hon. and gallant Member for the Burton Division.
The House of Commons votes by dividing. Those voting Aye (yes) to any proposition walk through the division lobby to the right of the Speaker and those voting no through the lobby to the left. In each of the lobbies there are desks occupied by Clerks who tick Members' names off division lists as they pass through. Then at the exit doors the Members are counted by two Members acting as tellers. The Speaker calls for a vote by announcing "Clear the Lobbies". In the House of Lords "Clear the Bar" is called. Division Bells ring throughout the building and the police direct all Strangers to leave the vicinity of the Members’ Lobby. They also walk through the public rooms of the House shouting "division". MPs have eight minutes to get to the Division Lobby before the doors are closed. Members make their way to the Chamber, where Whips are on hand to remind the uncertain which way, if any, their party is voting. Meanwhile the Clerks who will take the names of those voting have taken their place at the high tables with the alphabetical lists of MPs' names on which ticks are made to record the vote. When the tellers are ready the counting process begins - the recording of names by the Clerk and the counting of heads by the tellers. When both lobbies have been counted and the figures entered on a card this is given to the Speaker who reads the figures and announces "So the Ayes [or Noes] have it". In the House of Lords the process is the same except that the Lobbies are called the Contents Lobby and the Not Contents Lobby. Unlike many other legislatures, the House of Commons and the House of Lords have not adopted a mechanical or electronic means of voting. This was considered in 1998 but rejected. Divisions rarely take less than ten minutes and those where most Members are voting usually take about fifteen. Further information can be obtained from factsheet P9 at the UK Parliament site.
