§ 47. Dame Irene Wardasked the Prime Minister whether he is aware, that in spite of the need to increase production and reduce costs, the action, examples of which have been sent to him by the hon. Member for Tynemouth, of Government Departments such as the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Fuel and Power, the Board of Trade, and the Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation, nullifies individual efforts; and if he will call an inter-departmental conference of the Departments concerned with a view to eliminating these delays.
§ Mr. R. A. ButlerI have been asked to reply.
My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister has brought to the notice of the appropriate Ministers the matters raised by my hon. Friend. I do not think that an inter-departmental conference on matters so diverse would really help.
§ Dame Irene WardWhile thanking my right hon. Friend for that Answer, may I ask whether he agrees that the general public are getting frightfully bored about constantly being encouraged to greater 542 productive efforts when it is impossible to make appointments with the nationalised industries—gas, electricity or any of the others—when there are less and less buses, slower and slower trains, and when all their efforts to comply with the requests made, quite rightly, by the Government are vitiated? Will my right hon. Friend try to ensure that things are improved?
§ Mr. ButlerThere are two main parts of my hon. Friend's Question. One relates to Government Departments, in respect of which inquiries have already been put into effect as regards waiting lists at hospitals, outpatients and other difficulties. Certain of my hon. Friend's complaints were directed to the General Post Office. The questions about telephones and the opening hours of post offices have already been taken up. In regard to the nationalised industries, some of the things to which my hon. Friend has referred are day-to-day matters of administration by the industries concerned, so it would be as well if she could take them up with those industries. For the rest, I can assure my hon. Friend that I have read all the correspondence and that the Prime Minister wishes the matters to be energetically pursued on my hon. Friend's representations.