12. Mr. Compton Carrasked the Minister of Health whether he will consider, in consultation with the trade unions and other interests concerned, the inauguration of a scheme for the sale to the public of items manufactured by mentally defective persons in hospitals, training centres and sheltered workshops.
§ Mr. Walker-SmithI am not aware of any serious difficulty in disposing of such articles. I will certainly consider my hon. Friend's useful suggestion should the need arise, but I doubt whether arrangements on a national basis would be justified or practicable.
Mr. CarrI am much obliged to my right hon. and learned Friend for that reply. Would not he agree, however, that nearly all these items are disposed of at private sales of work at a cost far below that which could be obtained in the retail market? Would not he also agree that there is a need to consider the possibility of disposing of these items in the same way as the Lord Roberts' Workshops dispose of work done by disabled Service men?
§ Mr. Walker-SmithI will certainly consider my hon. Friend's suggestion. The price-fixing by the hospital authorities and local authorities is a longs Landing arrangement and has so far been thought to be suitable in these cases where the prime object of the work is not the price which the finished article attracts but the therapeutic value of actually making or fashioning it.