§ 37. Mr. de Freitasasked the Secretary of State for Air whether, in view of public disquiet at the present conditions and safety of air trooping, the Government will reverse their policy of forbidding the British Overseas Airways Corporation and the British European Airways Corporation from tendering against private air firms for long-term air trooping contracts.
§ Mr. BirchThe broad policy of Her Majesty's Government has always been that the Corporations should be concerned primarily with the operation of scheduled services. As a consequence the Corporations do not maintain aircraft for the purposes of tendering for long-term trooping contracts. They are, of course, free to tender for ad hoc contracts.
§ Mr. de FreitasIs it not a fact that the Corporations are not free to tender for the long-term trooping contracts? Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that one of the results of that and of the Government's policy of insisting on cut prices for trooping is that Service families have to travel in very poor conditions, often in obsolescent aircraft?
§ Mr. de FreitasWill the right hon. Gentleman answer the question? Is he aware that, as a result of Government policy, Service families are compelled to travel in poor conditions, often in obsolescent aircraft?
§ Mr. BirchThey are certainly not travelling in the newest aircraft. I am aware of that, but they are travelling in carefully supervised aircraft.
§ Mr. BurdenIs it not quite wrong to imply that the flight conditions in troop carrying are very bad? Is it not a fact that the record of accidents is extremely good?
§ Mr. H. MorrisonThe Secretary of State is taking his stand on the line that the Corporations do not wish to tender. Is he sure that that is true? Is it not the case that the Government have given them directions not to tender? Will the 1205 Secretary of State reconsider that, and give the Corporations freedom to tender? If they do not want to tender, they need not do so and the problem thereby settles itself. However, in view of the very sad incident with the York aircraft recently, ought he not to cease discrimination against the public Corporations?
§ Mr. BirchI do not think it right to use an accident in this sort of way. So far as policy is concerned, it was certainly true, under the right hon. Gentleman's Administration, that the Corporations were free to tender for long-term trooping contracts, but in fact they never secured them. They are now free to tender for thead hoc contracts, and in fact do so.
§ Mr. de FreitasWill the Secretary of State for Air realise that he is on the verge of misleading the House by emphasising these ad hoc contracts, which are a very small proportion of the whole? Is it not true that for the bulk of the trooping the Corporations are expressly forbidden to tender?