§ 42. Mr. Brockwayasked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation if he will give a general direction to the British Transport Commission that the concession now extended to disabled ex-Service men of free journeys on British Railways for their invalid tricycles should be extended to disabled civilians, including sufferers from poliomyelitis.
§ The Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation (Mr. Harold Watkinson)While I have every sympathy with disabled civilians, it would not be appropriate that I should give a general direction to the British Transport Commission on this subject.
§ Mr. BrockwayI am sure that reply will have been heard with disappointment on all sides of the House. While welcoming the fact that disabled ex-Service men get free transport for their motorised tricycles, may I ask if the needs of polio victims and victims of injuries are not just as great? Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that the cost of transport of these tricycles for a single journey is actually more than the cost of an ordinary passenger's ticket? Cannot the Minister at least enable this to be done once a year for a return journey for a holiday for these people?
§ Mr. WatkinsonThe hon. Member and I, with the Commission, have had some correspondence on this subject. He knows, and rightly says, that the Commission is making a good many concessions already to disabled ex-Service men. 1259 I am perfectly willing to draw the attention of the Commission to this matter again, but it is only fair to it to say that it has already looked at the question very carefully.