asked the Minister of Health whether he is aware that there are at present 1,000 beds empty in Swiss sanatoria; that there are 8,000 notified cases of tuberculosis in Great Britain waiting for proper treatment and therefore spreading infection; that the cost of treatment in sanatoria need not exceed a basic 30s. a day; and whether he will now make sufficient currency available, in consultation with the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with a view to enabling tubercular patients to fill empty beds in Swiss sanatoria.

There is no power to provide or pay for treatment under the National Health Service Act outside this country.