§ 4. Lord Malcolm Douglas-Hamiltonasked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Civil Aviation if he will consider opening flying-boat bases in Western Scotland to enable a service to be operated in those parts.
§ Mr. BeswickI am always ready to consider suggestions, but I think it most unlikely that this proposal could be justified.
§ Lord Malcolm Douglas-HamiltonIs it not the case that a great deal of the expense of maintaining a flying-boat base goes in providing fire-floats; and could the Parliamentary Secretary say whether a fire-float has been necessary in landings or take-offs in his experience?
§ Mr. BeswickFor any particular service that sort of thing could be investigated.
§ Mr. John MacLeodWould the Parliamentary Secretary not agree that, in view of the many natural advantages of a flying service up both coasts of Scotland, it would be worth experimenting with, certainly during the summer months? Would he further agree that an economical service could be run up the west coast of Scotland crossing to Invergordon and back again to the Clyde?
§ Mr. BeswickAs I have already said to the noble Lord the Member for Inverness (Lord Malcolm Douglas-Hamilton), I think that such a service would be an excellent one, and if any company applies for an agreement to operate such a service we should be very happy to give it every encouragement.
§ 5. Lord Malcolm Douglas-Hamiltonasked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Civil Aviation how many civilian flying-boat bases will be maintained by his Department when the Southampton base is closed.
§ Mr. BeswickNone, Sir.
§ Lord Malcolm Douglas-HamiltonDoes the hon. Gentleman not think it is important to maintain flying-boat bases; or is he against the encouragement of the use of civil flying-boats in this country?
§ Mr. BeswickNo, Sir, we are not against the encouragement of flying-boats. We simply think that it is not worth while maintaining a base if it is not used.