HC Deb 04 February 1942 vol 377 cc1166-7
19. Mr. R. C. Morrison

asked the Minister of Information whether, in view of the monotony of night work in many factories, he will instruct the British Broadcasting Corporation to arrange "Music while you Work" programmes between the hours of 3 a.m. and 5 a.m.?

Mr. Bracken

I will look into this: but I am bound to say that I should not favour a further extension of broadcasting hours unless there were strong evidence of the demand for and value of such a step.

Mr. Morrison

Will the right hon. Gentleman inquire whether it is not the fact that a number of the B.B.C. staff finish at 12 o'clock and remain on the premises until 7 o'clock in the morning, so that there would be no great addition to the work? Will he also draw the attention of the B.B.C. to the fact that recent experiments with an amateur concert party between 2 and 3 a.m. showed that the entertainment was productive of good results in the case of people who are having to work all night long?

Mr. Bracken

I will look into that point, but I would remind the hon. Member that a committee of this House actually recommended the cutting down of the hours of broadcasting.

Mr. Morrison

But now there are thousands of people called upon to undertake monotonous work all night long, and surely that point was not taken into consideration when the committee came to that opinion?