§ Mr. Onslowasked the Secretary of State for Social Services why it would be administratively impracticable to make no charge for the provision of lenses for children's spectacles fitted in non-NHS frames which are of suitable shape for NHS lenses and otherwise satisfy the British Standards of quality and workmanship which NHS frames must meet.
Mr. DeakmsThe administrative difficulty would lie not in exempting from charges lenses fitted to a suitable child's private frame but in testing and authorising the many styles of private frames to ensure that, like NHS frames in the children's range, they satisfied the appropriate strength and design specifications.