HC Deb 05 March 1948 vol 448 cc674-6
Mr. J. Edwards

I beg to move, in page 3, line 7, to leave out "pulmonary tuberculosis," and to insert: tuberculosis of the respiratory system. In the Committee upstairs some doubt was expressed as to whether the term "pulmonary tuberculosis" adequately covered all the infective forms of the disease. In order that there may b.3 no doubt, it is proposed to alter the wording.

Mr. Richard Law (Kensington, South)

We are most grateful to the Parliamentary Secretary and to the Government for having met us on this point. We were anxious in Committee that the definition of tuberculosis should cover all forms of tuberculosis, but the Minister there put forward arguments which showed that that was going too far, and that it would be sufficient if the definition covered those forms of tuberculosis which are infective. The Amendment fully meets the undertaking given to the Committee, and I should like to express our thanks to the Parliamentary Secretary.

Mr. Anthony Greenwood (Heywood and Radcliffe)

I entirely agree with what the right hon. Member for South Kensington (Mr. Law) has said. I should like to put in a plea that the regulations which the Minister is to issue should be as wide, imaginative, and generous as possible.

Mr. Messer

While it is true that the undertaking given by the Minister has been carried out, I think it ought lo be said that the undertaking does not go as far as those who are interested in this subject would desire. It is difficult to understand why it should not. I hope that when the regulations are drawn they will be drawn to cover certain difficulties that may arise because of this definition. The tubercle can lodge in various parts of the body. Its effects are different in different parts of the body. The tubercle in the lungs and in the respiratory ducts is infective. In the bones and joints, can it be said to be infective? What is to happen to the patient drawing this allowance who has the tubercle in the lungs, and who develops tubercle in the bones and joints, and in whose case the tubercle is certified as negative in the lungs, although the tubercle persists in the bones and joints? That is a point which I hope the Minister will consider. I cannot see why a girl working in a factory who goes down with tuberculosis of the lung and may be in a sanatorium for a long time should draw an allowance, whereas another girl, if she goes down with tuberculosis of the bones, cannot draw an allowance. I have known patients enter sanatoria expecting to be out in two months' time, but developing a variation of the disease and having to remain there for years. It seems, as the matter stands, that they will not be given this allowance.

Mr. Somerville Hastings (Barking)

I think that this Amendment meets very well the case I put before in Committee. The important question is that it makes special provision for all cases liable to be infectious and, therefore, a danger to other people. The important thing is that not only those who are liable to De a danger should undertake treatment, preferably away from home, but that it should be possible to provide extra nourishment for the families of those who may have contracted the disease before their case has been dealt with. This Clause deals with those who suffer loss of income in order to undergo treatment. What would happen in the case of a man who is discovered to be suffering from tuberculosis of the lungs after he has become so ill that he has had to leave his work? In that case, he would not be suffering loss of income by entering a hospital or sanatorium, because he has been so ill that he cannot draw any income. I should like the Minister to assure us that cases of this kind will be dealt with in the regulations, and that these regulations will be prepared with great care.

The Minister of National Insurance (Mr. James Griffiths)

I am much obliged to 'ion. Members on both sides of the Committee for what they have said about this Amendment. I think that it carries out fully the undertakings given during the Committee stage. It will fall to the Assistance Board, and then to myself, to prepare regulations and submit them to Parliament, and I can assure hon. Members that we shall take fully into account all the points they have raised. We shall prepare the regulations to meet the kind of case referred to by my hon. Friend the Member for Barking (Mr. Hastings).

Mr. Tiffany (Peterborough)

May I raise a question in relation to blind persons?

The Chairman

That question cannot possibly arise on this Amendment.

Amendment agreed to.

Motion made, and Question proposed, "That the Clause, as amended, stand part of the Bill."

Mr. Tiffany

I wish to ask whether, under this Clause, which deals with special provisions for blind persons, extra-special provision will be made for persons who are both blind and deaf.

Mr. J. Griffiths

Under this Clause, the Board will be under an obligation to make special regulations in regard to blind persons and those suffering from tuberculosis of the respiratory system. This point was raised during the Committee stage. There is no definite provision here to provide for special cases other than the blind and those suffering from tuberculosis, but over and above that, the Board must, in their administration, make allowance for cases which are so wide in their variation that they could not possibly be covered by any definition in a Bill. I shall bear in mind the point made by my hon. Friend the Member for Peterborough (Mr. Tiffany).

Question put, and agreed to.

Clause, as amended, ordered to stand part of the Bill.