§ Mr. Lewisasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he is aware that the general rise in the cost of living, in addition to the rise in the cost of the services which they are compelled to use in the course of carrying out their Parliamentary duties, such as postage and telephones, is making it difficult for Members of Parliament 163W satisfactorily to carry out their duties to their constituents; and whether he will, therefore, arrange for Members of Parliament to have telephones calls from the House of Commons free of charge.
§ Mr. H. MacmillanTelephone calls to the London area from the House of Commons are already provided free. I do not think it would be a desirable change to extend this arrangement to longer distance calls, and the possibility has been rejected by successive Select Committees.