asked the Lord President of the Council whether he will now make a further statement about the proposal to rebuild the Queen's Hall, London, and the nature of the facilities to be afforded by the Government.

I have been asked to reply. The facilities which are required and will be afforded by the Government to enable the Queen's Hall to be rebuilt are, first, a renewal of the lease of the site, which is Crown Land; second, a war damage payment in respect of the destruction of the old hall by enemy action; and, third, a building licence. Discussions are proceeding about the arrangements for providing concerts in the hall when it has been rebuilt.

When there are new developments in this direction, will the right hon. Gentleman bear in mind that several hundred thousand of the music-loving public subscribed to the Henry Wood Memorial Trust—there is very great interest in this matter—and will he undertake to keep the public informed of new developments?

We realise that there is a great deal of interest in the rebuilding of this hall, and we hope that it will not be long before the work can be started.

Can the right hon. Gentleman say whether the new Queen's Hall will be built as a national concert hall, and, if so, what kind of governing body there will be?

Not without notice.