Mrs Bessie Braddock: asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what new categories of disabled drivers will receive four-wheel vehicles.
Mrs Bessie Braddock: Would the Minister explain why there is no other category for the four-wheel disablement vehicle?
Mrs Bessie Braddock: The Minister has talked about the producer. Can he give us some information about the effect upon the housewife?
Mrs Bessie Braddock: Will my hon. Friend consider the system which Liverpool has adopted, under which there is free transport for elderly people holding an aged person's pass, and, before the party opposite took control of Liverpool, arrangements were made by the Labour-controlled local authority to reduce, year by year, the age at which a free pass was given?
Mrs Bessie Braddock: Is my right hon. Friend satisfied that when a patient is going to be discharged the requirements of the Mental Health Act, 1959, are being adhered to, namely, that there is liaison between the hospital, the general practitioner, and the mental welfare services of the local authority?
Mrs Bessie Braddock: Is it not time that the whole question of admission to hospital was looked into? If a person can pay, he can get priority in admission. Is it not time that our National Health Service put an end to this sort of thing?
Mrs Bessie Braddock: Is my hon. Friend aware that Liverpool has given a very great lead in this respect; and that if it were possible for the Minister to refer to the tremendous amount of good work our young people are doing in this connection, instead of giving all the publicity to anything bad they do, it would be very useful throughout the country?
Mrs Bessie Braddock: Can my right hon. Friend say what the effect of his Price Review will be upon the housewife?
Mrs Bessie Braddock: Is my right hon. Friend aware that this is a very serious matter and that in my constituency there have been a lot of grumbles about the state of some of the shelters? There are 29 communal air-raid shelters in my constituency. We have had a check made by the local authority. Most of them are in the centre of blocks of tenements and are a danger to children who play there. Will my right hon....
Mrs Bessie Braddock: Will my hon. Friend make inquiries from local authorities about whether they are meeting that request made by his Ministry to see that men discharged from the Forces are not put in the same position of having to reside in the place for two or three years before they can go on the waiting list? There are some local authorities which are not meeting that request.
Mrs Bessie Braddock: Is my right hon. Friend aware that only last Monday a new manager, Mr. Mitchell, took control of the Catering Department, that the Committee would very much like to have a short period at any rate while the new manager gets familiar with the position and that we would prefer not to be bombarded with Questions, which, particularly at this stage, only make his position very much more awkward?
Mrs Bessie Braddock: I have been asked to reply. Sales of these items fluctuate at different times of the year and a reduction of prices would not appear to be justified.
Mrs Bessie Braddock: Proposals for increasing sales and profits will be examined in the review which is being conducted of the Department's finances.
Mrs Bessie Braddock: I have been asked to reply. The full establishment of all grades in the Refreshment Department is 205. Owing to difficulties in recruitment, the staff employed by the Department at the moment numbers 183, that is 22 below establishment. Casual labour is engaged at hourly rates to bring the number of staff up to full strength whenever possible.
Mrs Bessie Braddock: I agree with what the hon. Member for Wells (Lieut.-Commander Maydon) has said about Mr. Roberts. He has done an excellent job under very difficult circumstances. The question of the number of staff and of keeping them is giving great concern to the Catering Sub-Committee. One of my hon. Friends has just whispered to me "Pay me properly", but the scale of pay has been agreed with the trade...
Mrs Bessie Braddock: I have been asked to reply. Linen tablecloths and napkins have been withdrawn as a measure of economy. The linen used in the Department was manufactured in Belfast.
Mrs Bessie Braddock: Perhaps in reply to that question I can give the hon. and learned Gentleman some information which might change his mind about the position. The continued use of table linen would have contributed further to the loss already sustained in providing meals in the Members' Dining Room. Laundry charges incurred by the Catering Department in 1965 amounted to £4,386. They were increased by 5 per...
Mrs Bessie Braddock: I have been asked to reply. The Catering Sub-Committee is conducting a comprehensive review of the services, including the menus, offered by the Refreshment Department, and, in consultation with the Accommodation and Housekeeping Sub-Committee, will put forward proposals for improving the environment and upkeep of refreshment rooms.
Mrs Bessie Braddock: The position is that a special report from the Select Committee on House of Commons Services commenting upon the accounts for 1965 will be published later this week. Perhaps there will be opportunity for a full discussion on these matters later.
Mrs Bessie Braddock: I have been asked to reply. The salary paid to the general manager of the Refreshment Department is not fixed; it is a matter for negotiation between him and the Catering Sub-Committee. There were fifty-five applicants for the vacancy caused by the resignation of Mr. Roberts, the present manager, and of these, ten were selected for interview. The post was offered to and accepted by Mr. R. J....
