§ Sir I. Fraserasked the Under-Secretary of State for Air if he will consider, in conjunction with the Minister of Education for teaching purposes and as a general aid to navigation and farming, the reinstatement of the airmet broadcast of synoptic weather information.
Mr. WardThe Meteorological Office is ready to resume forecasting for the Airmet Service at any time but, as my hon. Friend the Assistant Postmaster-General said in his answer to my hon. Friend the Member for Eastbourne (Mr. C. S. Taylor) on 5th March, there is still no prospect of a suitable frequency being made available for this purpose.
In the circumstances, my noble Friend and I do not think that any useful purpose would be served at present by fresh inter-Departmental discussions on the value of Airmet. We do, however, appreciate that several classes of the community, including private fliers and farmers, are anxious that the service should be restored. I can assure my hon. Friend that if the situation changes the claims of Airmet will be given every consideration.