§ Mr. Rhys Daviesasked the Secretary of State for War whether he will give the date when he contracted with the National Ophthalmic Treatment Board for the supply of optical appliances to the forces; whether he is aware that the nature of the contract has established a monopoly for a few dispensing firms of opticians to the exclusion of several thousand opticians throughout the country, recognised for optical service by the Ministry of Health under the National Health Insurance Acts; whether he has considered the representations on the terms of this contract from the Joint Council of Qualified Opticians and the British Optical Association; and whether he will agree to receive a representative deputation to discuss the matter?
§ Mr. Hore-BelishaI would refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him and to my hon. Friends the Members for Croydon, South (Sir H. Williams) and Mitcham (Sir R. Meller) to-day by my hon. Friend the Financial Secretary.
§ Sir H. Williamsasked the Secretary of State for War whether he will state the conditions and terms under which members of the Territorial forces are supplied with duplicate lenses for spectacles for use with service respirators?
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§ Sir R. Mellerasked the Secretary of State for War whether he is aware of the serious dissatisfaction created in the wholesale and retail optical profession by the arrangements made by the War Department for the supply of optical appliances to the forces through a monopoly of a few selected firms of dispensing opticians; and whether he will now receive a representative deputation of the interests concerned?
§ Mr. Rhys Daviesasked the Secretary of State for War whether he is aware that members of the Territorial forces who normally wear spectacles are not permitted to obtain duplicate pairs for use with service respirators from their own optician but are compelled to go to a selected group of firms of dispensing opticians; and whether he is prepared to reconsider the present arrangements consequent upon the representations that have been made to him from the optical profession?
§ Sir V. WarrenderThe normal method is that a Regular soldiers eyes should be examined by a military ophthalmologist (an officer of the Royal Army Medical Corps), and that the glasses he prescribes should be supplied by the Optical Appliance Department of the Ministry of Pensions. About four out of five cases are covered in this way.
For stations where a military ophthalmologist is not available, an agreement was concluded last August with the National Ophthalmic Treatment Board under which that organisation undertakes, at reasonable fixed charges, examination by an ophthalmologist and provision of spectacles by an optician. It is the only organisation in the country which provides the double service.
In the case of Territorials, it has been decided to issue, in peace, free of charge, to every member of an Air Defence unit who wears glasses, a pair of spectacles specially made for wear with a gas mask. For the sake of administrative simplicity, it was decided for this purpose to make use of the existing agreement with the National Ophthalmic Treatment Board for the provision of spectacles, rather than to enter into other arrangements.
Many representations have been received on this subject, but it is clear that the National Ophthalmic Treatment Board offers, economically and efficiently, the 2677W services which are needed, and that other bodies have not the full services to offer. No useful purpose would, therefore, be served by receiving a deputation.