asked the Minister of Town and Country Planning whether his attention has been drawn to the correspondence between the Nuffield Organisation, the Pressed Steel Company, Limited, and the Oxford City Council, with regard to the location of industry; and whether he has any statement to make.

My attention has been drawn to this correspondence, which raises important and difficult issues of industrial and planning policy which will be fully considered as soon as further necessary information is available. I am not, however, able to make any statement at present.

While I appreciate the difficulties in which the hon. Gentleman finds himself, will he bear in mind the desirability of not pre-judging the work undertaken by the town planning authority, and will he also agree that it is not the policy of the Government for large industries to leave large sites entirely at their own caprice?

Yes, Sir, I can give the hon. Gentleman the assurance that before anything final is decided the local planning committee will be taken into consultation, and the Minister will have the other considerations in mind.

Would the hon. Gentleman ask his right hon. Friend to bear in mind the undesirability of industrial developments so situated as to increase the already great congestion in Oxford city?

That consideration is very much in our minds.

asked the Minister of Town and Country Planning whether he has approved the plan of the Flaxton Rural District Council's postwar housing estate in the parish of Rawcliffe.

The site proposed by the Flaxton Rural District Council was rejected as being unsuitable for housing, after full consultation with the Minister of Health, in view of the fact that part of the site falls within the main flightway of an adjacent aerodrome and the remainder within the angle of this and another flight-way. The Council have been informed to this effect.

Surely the hon. Gentleman's Department approved this site in a planning scheme many years ago, and is not this housing estate in conformity with the planning schemes they then approved?

Since then, of course, an aerodrome has been situated there, which alters the situation very considerably. Part of the area is in an operative planing scheme in respect of which we have no powers to prevent development, but in this case the local authority have to receive sanction from the Ministry of Health, and we can operate under those powers. I think the hon. Member will realise that it would be a very undesirable thing to place houses where aeroplanes are constantly droning overhead, apart from the danger.

Is the hon. Gentleman aware that the aerodrome was located long before the planning scheme was passed?

asked the Minister of Town and Country Planning whether any decision has been taken with a view to making the gardens in London squares into atractive public gardens.

No, Sir; but I propose to give the matter further consideration in due course in connection with legislative proposals which I hope to put before Parliament.

Is not this the moment for some scheme to be hurried on, otherwise these squares will soon be enclosed and the whole story will begin again?

Most, if not all, of these squares are already protected from building development. The proposal outlined in the Question involves considerable labour for maintenance, and neither the London County Council nor the London boroughs are at the moment prepared to provide that labour.

Does my hon. Friend realise that to turn these private gardens into public gardens would add very considerably to the amenities of London, which are already fast disappearing?

Will the Minister consider utilising the space underneath these gardens for public garages, so that the revenue obtained would help to maintain the gardens above?

That is another question.

Would the hon. Gentleman give an assurance that railings will not be replaced, thereby preventing the public having access to the gardens?

All these things will be taken into consideration when the decision is made on the major question.

asked the Minister of Works the number of per sons employed in his Department in June, 1939, and in January, 1946, respectively.

:The number of staff in non-industrial grades employed in my Department, i.e., at headquarters, in the Edinburgh office and in the various offices throughout the country, was approximately 6,400 in June, 1939, and 16,800 in January, 1946. In addition the directly employed industrial staff numbered 6,300 and 16,400 on the two dates respectively. In January, 1946, there were also 4,800 industrial staff employed in the Special Repair Service.

Can the Minister say what benefit has accrued to the community as a result of the growth of this monstrous mushroom organisation?

I should say, in proportion to the growth of the numbers employed.

I wonder whether the right hon. Gentleman would grant facilities for increasing the numbers of his technical staffs in the provinces, particularly in South Wales, where there is a very great need for them?

asked the Minister of Works whether he will consider redesigning the entrances into the Royal Parks, with a view to accelerating the flow of traffic and enabling advantage to be taken of modern dual carriageway construction; and whether he will give an assurance that the Royal Parks will not be surrounded by iron railings, the reason for the retention of these being in the past as a bulwark against civil disturbances and strikes.

I am not aware that the entrances to the Royal Parks generally are inadequate for present traffic requirements, and I am not anxious to see the volume and speed of traffic within the Royal Parks increased. As regards the latter part of the Question, whilst I cannot accept the hon. Member's reasons for the former existence of the railings, there is no intention of restoring them at present.

Is the Minister aware that the entrances into Hyde Park are complete bottlenecks and out of date for modern traffic requirements, and that I have not asked for a speed limit to be increased in the Park?

Bottlenecks do not exist only there, but in other parts of London as well, and I do not think they are all due to the park entrances.

asked the Minister of Works if he is aware that the ruins of the old House of Commons were virtually cleared a month ago; what is the cause of the delay in proceeding with the rebuilding; and whether this is due to the difficulty in obtaining any prefabricated parts.

The work of demolition was finally completed on 4th February, and the new contractor who is responsible for the preparation of the foundations of the new building took possession of the site on the same day, and has completed certain preliminary work. No prefabricated parts are required at this stage.

Is anything being done to get rid of the ruins of the Tory Party?

Will it not look rather bad for the Government if the House of Commons is the only house built in the country?

asked the Minister of Works if he will make available to ex-Servicemen's associations and organisations of former N.F.S and CD. workers, for use as club premises surplus army huts or other suitable Government property.

Any such organisation writing to my Ministry will be given an opportunity of tendering if a suitable occasion arises.

Will my right hon. Friend consider offering them for sale at a fair price, rather than requiring these small organisations to tender for them?

asked the Minister of Works what steps he is taking in order to increase the supply of bricks and clay-products to Coventry.

Every endeavour is being made to increase the production of bricks and other clay products throughout the country generally. Of the 44 brickworks 111 Warwickshire, 17 are in production, 10 are licensed but not yet in production and licences are being issued to the remainder Of the three brickworks in the immediate vicinity of Coventry two are in active production and have stocks of over 1,000,000 bricks and the third yard is now making preparation to go into production.

asked the Minister of Works when he expects to begin and to complete the erection of the 40 prefabricated temporary houses at Benfield Road, Wokingham, which his Department agreed last August to build for Wokingham Corporation.

The local authority in this case have asked my Department to undertake on their behalf the preliminary work of constructing the roads and sewers, and supplied the necessary information for this purpose early in January. Since then bills of quantities have been prepared and tenders obtained. Provided that tender prices are satisfactory, work will start soon, but it is too early yet to predict when the site development and house erection work will be completed.

Was it not promised that these houses would be completely erected by March?

You cannot erect houses until there is some land prepared on which to erect them.

That is what the council are complaining about. You are not getting on with it.

asked the Minister of Works if he will state the amount of the agency charge made to local authorities when his Department undertakes the erection of temporary houses on their behalf.

All expenses incurred by my Department on erecting temporary houses are chargeable to the Temporary Housing Fund and no charge, agency or otherwise, is made by my Department to local authorities.

asked the Minister of Works how many prefabricated houses have been erected but cannot be inhabited owing to the absence of internal fittings.

On 16th February, the hulls of 28,818 temporary houses had been erected, and 14,661 of these had been completed and made available for occupation. The balance were having internal fittings installed. In some cases this process has undoubtedly been delayed by the shortage of certain fittings, but it is not possible to say how many. Every effort is being made to expedite deliveries generally.

is the right hon. Gentleman aware that at Gravesend all the prefabricated houses that have been supplied by his Ministry have been erected but cannot be occupied for want of fittings? Can he tell the House what steps his Ministry take to co-ordinate activity and to inform the Ministry of Supply about the houses as they are supplied, so that they can be equipped with essential fittings?

It would require a fairly long speech to explain all we attempt to do in order to co-ordinate the different activities.

It would not take such a long speech to say all that they have succeeded in doing, though.

I think if the right hon. and gallant Gentleman will read in tomorrow morning's Official Report the first part of the answer, he will find we have succeeded in far more cases than we have failed.

asked the Minister of Works whether he is aware that I, Lancaster Place, the London office of Thomas Hedley and Company, Limited, New-castle-upon-Tyne, was requisitioned at the beginning of the war for the Ministry of Aircraft Production; that this company has now been informed that these premises are to be occupied by the Inland Revenue on an apparently long-term basis; that the manufacturing owners of these premises are handicapped in their work through having to spread their central office over four separate addresses throughout Shepperton and London; and whether he will consider handing over this office so that the firm may undertake the peacetime expansion of their business.

I much regret the necessity for assigning these premises to the Inland Revenue Department. As my hon. Friend will understand, the difficulties as regards accommodation in London are such that, in allocating it, it is almost impossible to avoid causing inconvenience in one direction or another.

While one agrees that the necessities of war sometimes make it necessary to hand over the property of industrial firms to a Government Department, has not the time arisen when all firms, only too anxious to restart peacetime production, should have their premises requisitioned by a Government Department only in the most exceptional circumstances?

I would point out to the hon. and gallant Gentleman that the results of the war are not yet over though the war is over; and that only in exceptional circumstances are requisitioning powers now being used.

asked the Minister of Works if he is aware that the Ministry of Food continues to occupy the College of Art in Edinburgh, that this college is a most important centre for the training of teachers, including ex-Service men and women who have been preparing for their art diploma; and will he take steps to find alternative accommodation for the food office.

I can assure the hon. Member that every effort is being made, having regard to the urgency of surrendering these premises for their normal purposes, to secure alternative accommodation, but in view of the acute shortage of office premises in Edinburgh, I am unable at present to hold out any prospect of an early release.

Would the Minister turn his attention to the possibilities of the Royal Scottish Museum in Edinburgh, which for a long time now has been used for practically nothing but sporadic exhibitions?

I will certainly look into it.

asked the Minister of Works how many self-contained flats in London are under requisition and being used as one-room hostels for civil servant trainees.

There are no single-room flats used as hostel accommodation for Civil Service trainees. As a temporary measure a block of 35 flats in South Kensington is being used as a hostel for the accommodation of some 150 civil servants who were brought back to London last year There is no intention of retaining requisitioned accommodation to provide permanent living accommodation for civil servants.

Could not these particular civil servants have been accommodated on a hostel basis in one or more of the large houses in London which cannot be used for the accommodation of small families?

They were not available at that time.

Who had them?

There are hundreds.

asked the Minister of Works how many square feet of office space in Westminster of which he has been informed, are under requisition; what was the average number of people employed there during each of the last three months; and how soon it will be possible to derequisition this office accommodation.

About 12,000 square feet of office space is held on requisition in the premises in question. The staff in occupation was at one time approximately 200, but about a month ago this staff was reduced to about 160 and now numbers about no. Proposals are under active consideration to re-occupy the vacant space, and it is not possible at present to say when the accommodation will be derequisitioned.

asked the Minister of Works if he is aware that owners or tenants of hotels or residential clubs whose properties are requisitioned for the services of the' B.B.C. at a fraction of the commercial rent, are frequently unable to obtain even an approximate date for derequisitioning; that they are unable to take other premises as they do not know their position, and, meanwhile, have lost their means of livelihood; and what steps he proposes to remedy the position.

No, Sir. The settled practice observed by requisitioning Departments is that, whenever possible, advance information as regards approximate dates of release is given to owners of hotels and similar establishments. In addition, local meetings are held from time to time with owners, hotel associations and other local interests, for the purpose of arranging programmes of release, and these programmes are kept under constant review.

With regard to the hon. and gallant Member's assertion, which I cannot accept, that the compensation rental of requisitioned premises only amounts to a fraction of the commercial rent, I would remind him that by the Requisitioned Land and War Works Act, 1945, and the Treasury Order made thereunder, an owner may submit a claim for the revision, as from 24th February, 1946, of any compensation rental which is lower than both the rent now ruling and the rent obtaining in 1939.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that the Order has only been in practically two days, and, secondly, when the Ministry is unable to state within a term of years how long the requisitioning is to be continued, will they purchase the lease by arbitration, if the tenant so desires?

I will look at any case to see if that could be done.

asked the Minister of Works if he is aware that the City of Birmingham Estates Department is being held up in the rebuilding of bombed houses on their estates owing to the slow delivery of timber and galvanised clamps; that repairs on all their estates, long overdue, are being held up owing to the delay in delivery of materials needed; that whereas brickyards in that city were producing 10 million bricks per month only 1½ millions are now being produced; and if he will take steps to see that these delays are remedied as soon as possible.

No, Sir. My inquiries have not brought to light any hold up at Birmingham at the present time, although, failing the increases in supplies that we are trying to secure, difficulties might arise later on. With regard to bricks, I would refer my hon. Friend to my reply on 12th February.

Is not the right hon. Gentleman aware that I have actually seen the report from the Estates Department given out last week where they report to their chairman the holding-up as stated in my Question?

I also have been in touch with the manager of the Estates Department, who assures me there is no hold-up at the present time

asked the Minister of Works if he is aware that children, in many cases accompanied by their parents, are picking large bunches of crocuses and other cultivated flowers in the London public parks and taking them away; and, in view of the fact that these are planted for the enjoyment of the public, will he cause protective measures to be taken, including the erection of notices and by publicity in schools.

I am regretfully aware of the practice of which the hon. Member complains, and by precept and patrol will continue to do my best to protect the flowers in the Royal parks. It is, of course, impossible continuously to patrol all areas where flowers may be growing, and I must look to the public to help me to preserve the amenities which are provided for their enjoyment.

Could the right hon. Gentleman put some notices up asking people not to pick the flowers? Where I have seen them picking them there have been no notices.

I will consider that, but I think the fewer the notices that are erected in the parks the better.

Will the right hon. Gentleman consult with the Minister of Education to see whether something could be done in the schools towards teaching school children to be honest?

Yes, I will certainly do are not all school children who are guilty of this practice.

In the light of the fact that we want as much grass and as many flowers as possible in the cities, would the right hon. Gentleman consider the question of railings, not to keep people off, but to preserve the grass?

asked the Minister of Works whether he will raise the seats in the Victoria Tower Garden so that they may command a view of the river.

I sympathise with the object in view and will see whether any thing can be done. The suggestion, however, may not be practicable, and, in any case, there are many works of restoration in the Royal Parks which should have priority.

As a great many visitors to the Palace of Westminster seek fresh air in this charming Garden where at present they have a view only of a brick wall, would the right hon. Gentleman see if something could be done, perhaps, by this summer?

Probably later on.

Knock down the wall.

asked the Minister of Works what are the names, technical qualifications, method of selection, tenure of appointment and salaries, of the 12 Regional Directors, the Director of Temporary Housing and the Adviser of Regional Organisation, who have recently been appointed by him; and whether, in making these appointments, consideration was given to the claims of other members of the fully qualified staff already serving in his Department.

When my predecessor decided to set up a fully developed Regional Organisation, he selected an officer already serving in the Ministry to advise on the form the organisation should take. In the search for regional directors, it was decided to look for administrative or executive experience over a wide field rather than for technical qualifications. Every possible source, including the Treasury pool, the Ministry of Labour Appointments Department and the Ministry's own staff, was tapped. The actual appointments were approved either by myself or by my predecessor. One of the regional directors was already serving in the Department and three were serving in other Government Departments.

The Director of Temporary Housing was specially selected for the post by one of my predecessors. All of the appointments are temporary subject to a month's notice on either side. I am circulating in the Official Report a statement giv-