HC Deb 16 March 1950 vol 472 c1238
21. Mr. Hollis

asked the Minister of Health whether it is still proposed to proceed with the plan for charging 1s. on prescriptions; and if he has now decided' what is the definition of a prescription.

Mr. Bevan

I am not in a position to add anything to previous announcements on this subject.

Mr. Hollis

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that an unsatisfactory statement made on Tuesday does not become any less unsatisfactory when it is made on Thursday? It is not a question of anticipating the Budget statement, but that the Prime Minister made an unqualified statement on Government policy.

Mr. Bevan

If I might be permitted to say so, a quite unnecessary Question on Tuesday does not become more necessary when it is made on Thursday.

Lieut.-Colonel Elliot

When will the Minister be able to make an announcement on this subject, and let us know when the Prime Minister's instructions are to be fulfilled?

Mr. Bevan

As I informed the House on Tuesday, this is a matter which will be assimilated in the Budget statement.

Mr. Oliver Stanley

Why, then, did the Prime Minister anticipate the Budget by as much as six months and make a statement last October? Are we to understand that he made that statement in October without having got the permission of the Minister of Health?

Mr. Bevan

If the right hon. Gentleman will await the Budget statement all his anxieties will be cleared up.