§ 9. Mr. Rankinasked the Secretary of State for Air if he will make a statement about his proposals for improving meteorological research.
§ The Secretary of State for Air (Mr. Julian Amery)I would refer the hon. Member to paragraphs 123 and 124 of the Air Estimates Memorandum.
§ Mr. RankinThat is not helpful, Mr. Speaker, because I have not seen those paragraphs. When the right hon. Gentleman listens to the weather broadcast on the radio at night does he not think the coverage given is very short, and will he say what research is going on in co-operation with America, when the satellite is put up, and, if necessary, with Russia, to provide us with a world coverage which will tell us not merely about rain and change of wind but about those vast tornadoes which sometimes destroy crops and kill thousands of people?
§ Mr. AmeryI can assure the hon. Gentleman that the Meterological Office is in the closest touch with scientific work in meteorology, mainly through membership of the World Meteorological Organisation, and also by attending ad hoc conferences on meteorological subjects.