§ 1. Air-Commodore Harveyasked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Civil Aviation, what percentage of passengers carried by B.O.A.C., B.E.A. and B.S.A.A. during 1946 were carried without charge.
§ The Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Civil Aviation (Mr. Lindgren)None, Sir, except for members of the staffs of the Corporations travelling on duty, persons travelling for publicity purposes in the interests of the Corporations, and wives and families of members of the staff entitled to free passages, in accordance with staff contracts.
§ Air-Commodore HarveyDoes not the Parliamentary Secretary consider that rather a misleading answer to my Question? Surely a great many civil servants of all Departments have travelled on these lines without paying. The trips might have been "paper" ones, but will the hon. Gentleman try to give the information asked for?
§ Mr. LindgrenThe answer was not misleading, and was not intended to be so. Every passage for every civil servant has been paid for by the appropriate Govern- 1144 ment Department, and the payments made by those Departments have appeared, and do appear, in the accounts of the Corporations.
§ Lieut.-Commander Gurney BraithwaiteCould the Parliamentary Secretary indicate the number of these publicity experts who have had free passages?
§ Mr. LindgrenThey are not publicity experts, unless one so terms a member of the Press. If the Corporations have invited them to see something which they are doing, they have not, of course, charged fares when they have taken them up.