HC Deb 28 May 1952 vol 501 cc1327-9
Dr. Stross

I beg leave to present to this honourable House a national Petition signed by 211,577 of Her Majesty's subjects. The grievance set forth in this Petition is that charges are to be levied on prescriptions, on dental treatment, and on surgical appliances in the National Health Service. The Petitioners do declare their anxiety, for they believe that this is a backward step which will penalise the lower income groups and bear harshly on very many families when the breadwinners cannot support them. It is also their belief that the charges may prevent early treatment of and rapid recovery from disease. They look to this honourable House to alleviate their distress, being conscious, in particular, of the plight of those who are aged or suffer from chronic sickness and who must be nursed at home. The Petition concludes: Wherefore your Petitioners pray that these charges be withdrawn and measures taken to improve the existing Health Service so essential to the wellbeing of the community. And your Petitioners, as in duty bound, will ever humbly pray.

Sir H. Williams

On a point of order. Before this Petition is presented, may I draw your attention, Mr. Speaker, to the fact that the document on which it is written seems to me a most disorderly document because, in addition to the Prayer, there is an appeal for subscriptions to a private organisation, namely, the Socialist Medical Association. Printed along the side is a space for donations. I do not know whether they will accompany the Petition.

I do not believe that this has ever happened before. It seems to me most improper to get up a Petition to Parliament and use the Petition form as a device for raising money for a private organisation. Because it is so unusual, I do not know whether to raise the matter as a point of order, or as one of Privilege, but it seems to me a complete abuse of the system of petitioning this honourable House.

Dr. Stross

Further to that point of order. May I assure you, Mr. Speaker, and all hon. Members of this House that this matter was most carefully declared upstairs in the Petitions Office, whose advice was taken? The opinions expressed by the hon. Member for Croydon, East (Sir H. Williams), are unfounded, for previous Petitions have been made exactly in this way as this. With that explanation, may I now present the Petition?

Mr. Speaker

In answer to the point of order that has been raised, I am bound to say that I know of no precedent which would entitle me to rule the Petition out of order on what has been disclosed. There is a general rule that any matters that are extraneous to the subject matter of a Petition are undesirable and should be avoided in the Petition. If the Petition is presented and appears before the Select Committee on Petitions, I will draw the Committee's attention to what has been said, and if the Committee sees fit to report back to this House later we could, I think, discuss the matter then.

Mr. Braine

Further to that point of order. Would it not appear to be a grossly improper thing that an appeal for subscriptions should be issued under the guise of a Petition to this honourable House? May I inquire whether the Committee to which the Petition will be referred has any powers to deal with the matter on a disciplinary basis?

Mr. Speaker

There is no question of a disciplinary basis. I have already ruled on the general issue. The Committee has power to make a recommendation to the House on the matter.

To lie upon the Table.