§ 30. Mr. Osborneasked the Minister of Health if he is aware that Mr. A. Spall, 3, Coronation Cottages, Cleethorpes, an ex-naval pensioner, sent his invalid's motor vehicle for minor repairs to the official repair depot last December, and that the repairs have not yet been done; and if he will give instructions that such minor repairs may be done at any local garage, and so avoid ex-Service men being deprived of their motor vehicles for such long periods.
§ Mr. Iain MacleodExisting arrange-meets provide for any minor repairs to be undertaken by local garages, but the repairs needed in this case were extensive. It was, therefore, necessary for them to be done by a suitable approved firm. 809 The unusual delay has been due in part to labour shortage and in part to difficulty in getting certain spare parts. In view of the delay I am arranging for a suitable replacement machine to be supplied at once.
§ Mr. OsborneWhilst thanking my right hon. Friend for the action that he has taken, may I ask him, on the general principle, whether he would not allow these repairs to be done much more locally? This carriage had to be sent from Cleethorpes to Skegness, a distance of 30 miles, whereas at places like Cleethorpes and Grimsby there must be good garages where the work could be done without depriving an ex-Service man of his vehicle.
§ Mr. MacleodThere seems to be something of a misapprehension in my hon. Friend's Question. He refers to minor repairs and, as I made clear, they were extensive repairs. If they are minor repairs, they can and should be done locally, but any larger repairs must clearly be done by approved firms.