§ 24. Sir P. Hannonasked the President of the Board of Trade if his attention has been called to the decision of the Government of Chile to construct 17 new hospitals; and if British manufacturers of hospital equipment have been informed of the opportunities which now offer to secure as large a share as possible of this market.
§ Mr. MarquandI understand that the Chilean Public Health Department has been authorised to build 60 new hospitals at a cost of 500,000,000 Chilean pesos, and that work on 17 of these has commenced. Equipment for these will be purchased by public tender. So far these tenders have not yet been issued, and no details of them have been published, but as soon as they are available we will communicate them to United Kingdom industry.
§ Sir P. HannonWill the Minister take care that as far as possible the equipment of these hospitals is in the hands of British manufacturers?
§ Mr. MarquandWe will certainly do our best to tell them of all the orders available.
§ Sir W. SmithersCan the Minister say how many Chilean pesos are equal to one pound at the present exchange rate?