§ 11. Mr. Beswickasked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Civil Aviation, whether any decision has yet been made about aircraft types to be used by B.O.A.C. over the next five to seven years.
§ Mr. LindgrenIt is the policy of His Majesty's Government that the air transport corporations should, so far as practicable, fly British. Pending the introduction into service of the newer British types, such as the D.H. Comet and the Bristol M.R.E., it is the present intention that British Overseas Airways Corporation's fleet should be supplemented and, as appropriate, replaced by Solents, Tudors, Hermes and, in the case of the North Atlantic, Stratocruisers.
§ Mr. BeswickAs the eventual types to which my hon. Friend has referred are not to be available for five or six years, does he not agree that if we are to use interim types for that period it will inevitably mean the loss of £7 million or £8 million for each of those five or six years?
§ Mr. LindgrenI cannot commit myself to the figures mentioned by my hon. Friend, but it undoubtedly will be a very severe handicap on the financial side of the Corporations.
§ Mr. CrawleyIs my hon. Friend aware that the calculations made by the Corporation for the use of Canadian aircraft would actually earn dollars in the next five years? Does his answer mean that that proposition has been finally turned down?
§ Mr. LindgrenNo, Sir, it does not mean that the proposition has been finally turned down. A certain representation was made in this House in the course of the recent Debate, and that representation is being considered by His Majesty's Government.
§ Mr. BeswickAm I to understand that the Minister's original reply was therefore not, in fact, strictly accurate, and that the Ministry are now considering allowing the purchase of economic aircraft for the period of the next five years?
§ Mr. LindgrenNo, Sir. My hon. Friend asked a Question, and I have given the answer, in so far as the present policy of His Majesty's Government is concerned. The Corporations and, to a degree, Members of this House in Debate, made certain suggestions for consideration, and that consideration is now taking place.
§ Wing-Commander MillingtonWill my hon. Friend bear in mind that the only hope of running these Corporations economically is to have a strict measure of rationalisation of types? One of the worst diseases of the British Air Corporations is the multiplicity of types. That seems to suggest lack of a properly coordinated policy.
§ Air-Commodore HarveyIn view of the Government's difficulties and the large sums of money which are being lost, would the Minister recommend the setting up of a Royal Commission to consider this matter and make recommendations to the Government?
§ Mr. LindgrenI would like notice of that Question.
§ Mr. BeswickIf a decision is pending about the purchase of economic types for use in the next five years, may I ask who is to make the decision and where the hold-up in making that decision now lies?
§ Mr. LindgrenMy hon. Friend should put such a Question on the Paper.
§ Mr. BeswickIn view of the unsatisfactory nature of the reply which my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Secretary has had to give, I beg to give notice that I shall take the earliest opportunity of raising this matter on the Adjournment.