§ Major CHAPPLEasked the Pensions Minister whether the prevailing price of an artificial limb for limbless soldiers is £15; whether several artficial limbs have sometimes to be made in succession for the same man; whether over 6,000 limbs have already been made; and whether he has taken any steps to ascertain if such limbs can be produced, consistent with the utmost efficiency, for about £5 each, if made under the direction of the Ministry of Munitions?
§ Mr. BARNESAs explained in my reply to the hon. Member on the 19th instant, the cost of artificial limbs varies considerably. It is the case that occasionally the first limb supplied proves unsatisfactory,2418W and has to be replaced, and also that over 6,000 limbs have been supplied since the commencement of the War. It might be possible to reduce the price (though whether by so much as the hon. Member suggests I have no means of judging) by undertaking wholesale manufacture, but the stage for that has not yet been reached. Improvements are being effected daily in the various types of limbs required, and it would not be expedient to standardise them at present.