§ 83. Mr. Wilkesasked the President of the Board of Trade why his Department have refused an import licence to Mr. J. E. Dickinson, of Newcastle-on-Tyne, to import on behalf of himself and other opticians in the North-East of England a quantity of lenses from the manufacturers in Hamburg which would enable these opticians to supply, under the terms of the National Health Service, spectacles to their customers, many of whom have been kept waiting for months because of the shortage of lenses.
§ Mr. BottomleyFor balance of payments reasons, licences cannot be granted freely for the import of spectacle lenses from Western Germany. Licences for such imports are granted on the recommendation of the Ministry of Health, who were not prepared to support Mr. Dickinson's application.