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(8) Expenditure.—The cumulative net expenditure up to 31st March, 1946, for the purchase and servicing of land and the erection of joinery-factories and houses, including all administrative charges, amounted to £34,015,996, while liabilities and commitments amounted to a further £8,221,286. The net expenditure for the year under review was £5,625,296. The total cost of administration of the Department (exclusive of interest charges) from its inauguration to date was £985,820, or 3-09 per cent, of the net expenditure (excluding administrative costs and interest). The percentage for the year ended 31st March, 1946, was 3-73. (9) Training Schools. —There are now 39 schools of trainees associated with building trades —25 carpentry, 3 bricklaying, 3 plastering, and 8 painting —operating in 19 towns. The total number of trainees who completed the course during the year was 224. The Division is making increasing use of trainees, and up to 31st March, 1946 has arranged 125 contracts with the Rehabilitation Department for the labour involved in 709 houses, situated in 17 towns. Of these, 215 have been completed.

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