asked the Minister of Works whether he is aware that Indian hemp is being grown in Bushy Park, Teddington, collected by members of the public, manufactured into cigarettes and sold to young people; and what steps he is taking to prohibit the growing of such plants.

The allegation that Indian hemp was grown in Bushy Park has been thoroughly investigated by the police and by my Department, and has not been substantiated. The staff responsible for the Royal Parks are aware of the danger of this plant.

Is my right hon. Friend aware that the people of Bushy would be shocked if the well-cultivated soil of Bushy Park were used for this purpose, as it was reported in court that students are growing Indian hemp, smoking themselves silly and selling cigarettes in Kingston Market?

There is no evidence that this plant has been found anywhere in Bushy Park. There was a wild plant found in the Green Park some time ago. That was immediately destroyed, and I hope that if any hon. Members find any others they will let me know at once.

Is the Minister aware that the hon. Member for Twickenham (Mr. Gresham Cooke), in this as in other matters, is in a perpetual fog? Will he take steps—

Order. Whatever the degree of the fog, the Minister cannot be responsible for it.

asked the Minister of Works at what date an annunciator was installed in the rooms, on the Ministerial Floor of this House, of the Leader of the House; and what was the cost.

This annunciator was installed on 21st October, at a cost of £163.

Is the Minister aware that this is very much cheaper than we thought it would be? Has he yet had an application from the Home Secretary to put it back in the room from which it originally came, on the ground that the Home Secretary demonstrated so clearly in the incident of the Mace that he is still the best Leader of the House we have got?

I think that is a question of opinion, and far from the Question on the Order Paper.

asked the Minister of Works if he is aware that due to the Shortage of bricks in Birmingham one housing project has been held up for six months, and that one builder has had to dismiss half his bricklayers; and what action he proposes to take to remedy this shortage.

I understand that in Birmingham two housing schemes were delayed earlier this year, but that bricks are now available for both.

May I ask the Minister whether he is aware that a supplier of large quantities of bricks to Birmingham has said that there will be many months' delay? Is he aware that there are two schemes which have had over four months' delay, and will he undertake to see that Birmingham can have a greater degree of security in obtaining the materials necessary to build the houses which it so badly needs?

These schemes are all right now. I cannot find any evidence of the dismissal of half the bricklayers employed by any firm, and if the hon. Gentleman can let me know about it, I will look into that case again. It is up to those who want bricks to order them in plenty of time, and when that is done, there is very little difficulty.

asked the Minister of Works what progress he has made with the scheme to conserve machinery and industrial buildings of outstanding historical interest.

The position is still as described in the Answer I gave to the hon. Member on 18th July. The Council for British Archaeology is considering what can be done to speed up work on this survey.

Is the Minister aware that this has been hanging on now for about two years? Could he not take a little more interest in this matter and get some material so that he can set up a new scheme to help to preserve these monuments?

I do not want to do anything to anticipate the report. All I can say is that those concerned will notice that this Question has been put down by the hon. Member.

Is my right hon. Friend aware that this country has been very backward in making plans to preserve many of the most remarkable relics of early industrial development, such as splendid architectural works in the form of old warehouses, as well as old machines, old steam-engines, and so on, that are now being destroyed fairly quickly? Would it not be a thousand pities if this, the pioneer industrial country, did not preserve its most prominent monuments?

I think there is a lot in that.

Is the Minister aware that there are many others in this country who believe that there are far too many out-dated machines and far too many out-dated directors of machines?

asked the Minister of Works whether he has received the award of the assessors for the architectural competition for the Broad Sanctuary site, Westminster.

Yes, Sir. Of the sixty-five entries submitted, the assessors have placed first the design prepared by Mr. William Whitfield.

asked the Minister of Works if he will state the increase in office, shop and warehouse building in the last twelve months compared with seven years ago, and the decrease in council house building in the same periods.

Figures for shops and warehouses are not available. Public authority housing has fallen from about £440 million in 1954 to about £300 million in 1961 at current prices for each date. The figure for offices in 1954 was about £34 million and although detailed statistics are no longer collected it is estimated that the present figure may be of the order of £110 million.

Does not this mean that the Government's policy has slashed council house building at the very time when it has trebled office building? Which should have priority? Does the Minister think that Shell-Mex should have two enormous office blocks overlooking the Thames when thousands of families cannot even get a single room?

I think the real point is that no less than 26 per cent. of the whole of the construction work now going on is on housing.

Would not my right hon. Friend agree that private house building during the same period has doubled, and, further, that the people employed on office blocks would not necessarily have gone into house building if released; for instance, steel erectors?

I certainly agree that private housing has very much played its part in the good figures now being shown.

asked the Minister of Works when he hopes to start work on the provision of extra accommodation for hon. Members and their secretaries under the roof of the Palace of Westminster.

I cannot forecast the date, but it will be as soon as circumstances permit.

But is the Minister aware that this delay is quite intolerable? Is he aware that this extra accommodation is urgently needed to relieve the overcrowded and unsatisfactory conditions in which Members of this House, their secretaries, and officials of the House are having to work? Is it not bad enough for hon. Members to have to endure a pay pause without having an efficiency pause imposed on them as well?

I should like to say two things in answer to that. First, that I believe that the House as a whole would not prefer that we put improvements For ourselves first, although naturally, as I agreed, we want this to be done when it is time to do it. Secondly, the more the hon. Lady and her hon. Friends help outside this House, the quicker we may be able to to do this. I hope that the hon. Lady will not go on making speeches encouraging people to break up the efforts to get this country's economy going properly.

rose—

rose—

Mr. Charles Pannell.

On a point of order.

On a point of order. Mr. Speaker

I called Mr. Charles Pannell.

Before I put my supplementary question, may I put a point of order to you, Mr. Speaker? Bearing in mind the rebuke you gave my hon. Friend the Member for Birmingham, Small Heath (Mr. Denis Howell) for introducing the sort of matter which he did into a supplementary question, may I with respect ask you whether the same treatment might be handed out to the Minister for his completely unmerited rebuke to my hon. Friend?

To be completely frank with the House and the hon. Member, I did not hear what the Minister said at that point, so I cannot help myself.

Further to that point of order. Mr. Speaker, I am sorry that you were not able to hear the remarks which the Minister shouted at the top of his voice. What they amounted to, in the hearing of most of us, was a really savage attack on my hon. Friend for her policies and alleged actions in the country, to which, by the nature of the proceedings now before the House, she could not possibly have any opportunity whatever to reply, or from which she could not possibly defend herself at Question Time. I submit to you that that is a grave abuse of the Minister's position, and that he ought to withdraw and apologise.

I have nothing to withdraw. I was referring—

It does not matter to what the noble Lord was referring.

I was referring to the speeches the hon. Lady made last month when she urged the Trades Union Congress—

On a point of order.

Order. Various things were happening. One of them was that I was trying to find out what it was the Minister had said out of which this arose. At that point the Minister rose to do something: I do not know what. I do not know whether he rose to a point of order. If he did not, the present position is that a point of order has been addressed to me by the hon. Member for Nelson and Colne (Mr. S. Silverman). I do not think that there is any breach of order. I do not think that I can say anything else now.

Further to that point of order. Is it not quite clear from what the Minister has just done that, whether he was in order or not before, he is clearly out of order now by his own confession? What he had in mind, and what he is now saying, has no relevance to the Question asked by my hon. Friend, and he is merely using the opportunity created by this point of order to repeat and aggravate his offence. I think that he ought to be called upon, and I respectfully suggest that he should be, to withdraw it, apologise, and undertake not to repeat it.

The right form of the rule is that the answer must relate to the problem put in the Question. In so far as the Minister went outside that, he should in fact withdraw it in relation to Question Time. I gather that what he was saying was something in relation to the hon. Lady's treatment of Government policies in the country, or something of that sort.

Withdraw.

Mr. Speaker, if you instruct me to do so, I withdraw unreservedly. I shall certainly do so. What I should like to explain—and what I have not been able to do up to now—is that the hon. Lady—and she has not asked me to withdraw—was criticising Her Majesty's Government for not getting on with the—

On a point of order.

Order. It is clearly right that I should hear what the Minister is try to tell me.

On a point of order. Is it not perfectly and absolutely clear to us that what the Minister has now commenced to do is to repeat his offence for a third time?

It is not clear to me what the Minister is doing at the moment. I am trying to hear what he is explaining to me.

As I was endeavouring to say, the hon. Lady criticised Her Majesty's Government for not continuing this scheme, and implied that their policy was to blame. I simply said that I hoped the hon. Lady would do what should could to help, and not encourage those outside to do what she was purported to have said in a speech when she urged the Trades Union Congress to go in—

Order.

Get back to the gutter.

Order. In going beyond the subject matter of the Question, the Minister was at fault in answering a question, and I am obliged to him for saying that he will withdraw that part of what he said.

In view of what you say, Mr. Speaker, of course I do so unreservedly.

On a point of order. I distinctly heard the hon. Member for Nelson and Colne (Mr. S. Silverman) address a highly approbrious remark to my noble Friend. It was distinctly heard by all my hon. Friends.

What was it?

I will tell the hon. Gentleman what it was. The hon. Member for Nelson and Colne told my noble Friend to get back to the gutter. Would it be in order for him to be requested to withdraw such a disgraceful remark?

I hope that all hon. Members will make use only of language proper in this House, and I invite the hon. Member, if he used that expression, to withdraw it.

I am very glad to withdraw the invitation if the Minister does not like it.