§ 21. Lieut.-Colonel Liptonasked the Minister of Health why a hospital group in the London area, details of which have been sent to him, is paying £15 for each television set hired for Coronation day; and whether he will make more economical arrangements to prevent this exploitation of the desire of hospital authorities to enable patients to view the Coronation.
§ Mr. Iain MacleodI am informed that this hospital group are hiring 19 television sets fully serviced, at an approximate cost of £11 10s. 0d. per set, to be met from non-Exchequer funds, and I see no reason to intervene.
§ Lieut.-Colonel LiptonIs not this a heartless example of Coronation profiteering—to pay £11 10s. for one set for one day—and is it quite impossible to prevent this rather crude exploitation of hospital authorities, sick people and the public purse generally?
§ Mr. MacleodNo; I do not agree in the least. I have looked into the comparative costs. Of course, normally, it is quite uneconomic to hire sets for one day. These sets include aerials, service, the attention of an engineer and all the necessary equipment, and I cannot think 1397 of a more suitable use of amenity funds than to enable hospital patients to see Her Majesty's Coronation.
§ Lieut.-Colonel LiptonIt is profiteering, anyhow.