§ 25. Mr. Symondsasked the President of the Board of Trade what quantities of spectacle lenses have been exported to the Union of Socialist Soviet Republics since July, 1948.
§ Mr. H. WilsonI am unable to give the figure for spectacle lenses only, but the number of lenses for spectacles, goggles, eyeglasses or monocles exported to the U.S.S.R. from July to December, 1948, was 168.
§ Mr. SymondsWill my right hon. Friend bring this answer to the notice of the opticians, because some of them are suggesting to their customers that the delay in the supply of glasses here is not so much due to the vastly increased demand as to the fact that we are exporting lenses by the million to the U.S.S.R.?
§ Mr. WilsonI hope that the figure of 168 will lay that particular rumour.
§ Mr. Vernon BartlettCan the right hon. Gentleman say what proportion of that export consisted of monocles?
§ Mr. WilsonI have made clear that the figure is the total for all kinds of lenses and I cannot split it.