asked the Minister of Public Building and Works whether he will arrange for the National Building Agency to give advice on how to use modern methods of construction which do not necessitate the use of bricks.

As my right hon. Friend stated in reply to the hon. Member on 21st December, 1964, the National Building Agency does precisely this.

Will the National Building Agency specialise in or concentrate on this problem, because the use of these other materials will lead to efficiency in building? How long will the shortage of bricks go on?

When advising on the most suitable techniques for a particular scheme, the National Building Agency has regard to building efficiency as a whole and not the availability of any one particular material. As for the bricks situation, I cannot be a prophet, but the situation is reasonable.

Can the Minister say, following inquiries made in the last Parliament, whether shipyards are being used to any extent in the production of prefabricated sections?

Some work is going on, but I should prefer the hon. Member to put down a Question on that point.

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works how many local authorities have approached the National Building Agency with requests for assistance with their housing programmes; and what have been the results.

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works to what extent local authorities are using the National Building Agency to advise them on their housebuilding programmes; and to what extent he is encouraging them to do so.

I am informed that more than 150 local authorities, groups of authorities, and new town corporations have approached the National Building Agency about building methods. Many of these inquiries are still being followed up. My right hon. Friend, in conjunction with his right hon. Friend the Minister on Housing and Local Government, is strongly encouraging housing authorities to make the maximum use of the Agency's services.

I thank the Parliamentary Secretary for that reply, but is he aware that nowadays it is not a question of choosing either one or the other method of building but of using what is best in the traditional type of building along with the industrial form of building; and that, married together, they can probably give us the answer to the housing problem?

Yes, Sir.

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works what representations he has received from local authorities concerning the shortage of building materials, especially plasterboard; and what steps he intends to take to overcome such shortages.

Representations have been made by twelve local authorities in Scotland about delays in the delivery of building materials, especially plasterboard. As my right hon. Friend said in reply to the hon. Member for Folkestone and Hythe (Mr. Costain) on 1st February, he has met the producers of the key building materials. Difficulties should ease progressively as the additional capacity which has been promised becomes available.

Does my right hon. Friend's reply mean that no local authorities in England are suffering from or have protested about these shortages? If it does, it is not my impression. Can he tell me, in particular, what are the delivery dates for plasterboard? Is is not the case that Fife County Council had to wait many months for it and that this is having an effect on holding up building progress? What are the implications behind my right hon. Friend's speech at the weekend, in which he talked about shortages of cement?

No, Sir, to the first part of the question. Delivery dates are very difficult to give because they vary from time to time, but the manufacturers have devised a scheme under which they quote a common delivery period throughout the country, and this is probably the best way of spreading available supplies as fairly as possible.

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works what plans he has for reducing the use of bricks in connection with the construction of new defence establishments; and what plans he has in that connection to make greater use of modern substitutes such as prefabricated panels.

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works to what extent he intends to use bricks in the construction of new defence establishments; and what plans he has to use modern substitutes.

My Department is increasingly applying new and better techniques in the construction of defence establishments. The availability of materials, including bricks, is one of the factors on which the choice of technique depends.

Does the right hon. Gentleman agree that this is a case in point where the Government can give a lead and set an example to the building industry to get away from traditional materials and to use modern techniques?

We are increasingly using non-traditional materials and methods in providing housing, messes, offices, barrack blocks and schools in the Armed Forces. We are on this job all the time.

Since we have spent over £20,000 million during the last 13 years on so-called defence, does my right hon. Friend not think that we should be using scarce materials and labour on building houses for the people instead?

Yes, but that raises other points. We are talking not about the £20,000 million on defence but about decent accommodation for the Armed Forces, to which we are prepared to give a high priority.

Will the right hon. Gentleman give the House an assurance that there will be no delay in the construction work in connection with the Polaris base near Holy Loch due to shortage of materials?

I do not think that that arises on this Question. In answer to a previous supplementary question, I was informing my hon. Friend the Member for Wolverhampton, North-East (Mrs. Renée Short) of the need to house Service personnel. This is another question.

Despite what the hon. Member for Twickenham (Mr. Gresham Cooke) said about getting away from conventional building methods, will my right hon. Friend bear in mind the necessity to maintain and fully capitalise the available resources of craft and skill in traditional methods in the industry?

I recognise that the great bulk of building is done on the basis of traditional skills, but I am afraid that we will have to get away from them and bring in industrialised and unorthodox methods if we are to master the load on the building industry.

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works what progress he has made in his discussions on Parliamentary control of the House of Commons.

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works if he will now make a statement on the Parliamentary control of the Palace of Westminster.

I am sorry but I cannot add anything to the reply given by the Prime Minister on 11th March to my hon. Friend the Member for Fife, West (Mr. William Hamilton).

In view of my right hon. Friend's advocacy of this change for the last 15 years, is it not about time that he swept this stupid anachronism under the carpet? Can he say when we are going to have a definite pronouncement?

My right hon. Friend would not expect me, standing here at the Dispatch Box, to go further than my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister was prepared to go last Thursday. I would only quote, in that context, some lines that occur to me from Louis Untermeyer's "Prayer":

"From compromise and things half done

Keep me with stern and stubborn pride."

I hope, for my right hon. Friend's sake, that it does. Does he recognise that we have been pressing this for a very long time, I think with his support? Can he tell us precisely what is holding this settlement up? Is it because the Government are determined to get a solution which will satisfy this side, or is it because they are trying to get something which will mollify the other side?

I can only say to my hon. Friend that while some people may have been waiting for this for 15 years I have been working for it for 15 years, and I am only too glad that so many people on both sides have caught up.

Will the Minister bear in mind that improved facilities for hon. Members are of much more value than constitutional upheavals of one kind or another? Will he continue the good work of his predecessor in this connection and lay off the Lord Great Chamberlain?

Without going into the larger arguments involved, this is the only legislature in the Commonwealth which does not have complete command over its own accommodation. I should have thought that everything proved—and this has been proved in all parts of the word—that, apart from economic advantages, self-respect is the first consideration.

In so far as the Questions have been concerned with the House of Commons, is the right hon. Gentleman consulting the different parties in the House to get a broad section of opinion?

As is well known on the Front Bench, there has been full consultation through the usual channels. There is nothing I know, standing at the Dispatch Box, which is not known by the right hon. Gentleman the Leader of the Opposition.

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works if he will make a statement on the percentage increase of productivity on new works in the building industry for the last four quarters for which the figures are available.

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works what has been the percentage increase in productivity in the building industry on new works for the last four quarters for which figures are available.

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works if he will make a statement about the percentage productivity increase on new building in the last available four quarters.

Provisional figures suggest that the output per operative of contractors' labour employed on new work increased in 1964 overall by about 6 per cent. The figures for the individual quarters were:

Has the Minister got the comparable figures for direct labour?

No, Sir.

Is my hon. Friend aware that, from the point of view of direct labour—and I have had some experience of this both as an operative and as the chairman of a direct works department—direct labour departments in large cities use the most modern methods of construction, whereas in many cases the large building firms do not use these methods?

Yes, Sir, but the difficulty in comparing the work which direct labour departments do with new work is that the latter do mixed forms of work—maintenance and things of that kind—which makes the figures almost impossible to compare.

Would my hon. Friend agree that productivity in the building industry is largely a question of the kind of management which it has? What steps does he intend to take to see that management in the building industry is improved? Will he see, in particular, that engineers and people technically qualified get jobs in management as against architects—[HON. MEMBERS: "Oh.")—I am sorry; I meant to say accountants and solicitors, who have no technological training and background?

Management is a very important factor, and a great deal is going on to encourage management to improve itself by way of education, oganisation and so on.

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works which members of the Government have, or are to have, official residences to what extent such residences have increased or decreased and what work has now been done on Admiralty House.

Official residences are now occupied by the Prime Minister, the First Secretary of State, the Lord Chancellor, the Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Foreign Secretary. The number of official residences is the same as on 15th October last. The engineering and other services at Admiralty House are being overhauled and modernised and repairs and redecorations are being carried out.

What are the Government's intentions for Admiralty House?

I could not answer that in anticipation of the finishing of the decorations. [Laughter.] The work at Admiralty House includes essential long deferred structural work and it is likely to cost about £100,000 in all [HON. MEMBERS: "Oh."]

Would the right hon. Gentleman do his best to see that Admiralty House is retained as residential accommodation and not let his stern and stubborn pride turn it into merely Government offices?

The hon. and learned Gentleman enjoyed the privilege of being inside the building when he was P.P.S. to a previous Prime Minister. He therefore speaks with an intimacy of the building, of which I have no knowledge at all. I do not want to anticipate what is going to be done with the place, except to say that any assumption of superiority on the part of hon. Gentlemen opposite—that we are not as discriminating and tasteful in the use of historic accommodation as they—would be impertinent, would it not?

Surely the right hon. Gentleman is not taking part in these quite expensive redecorations without having some idea as to what the ultimate use of Admiralty House is going to be? Will he give an assurance that this is still intended to be a Ministerial residence? Can he also tell the House whether he has consulted any of his colleagues as to their taste in decoration?

No, but let us get this perfectly straight. We are carrying on decorations which were started by the right hon. Gentleman's Administration. As in many other spheres, we must complete the job even though we inherited a deficit. When the work on Admiralty House has been completed at the end of the year the upper floors will be available again as an official residence, as under the previous Government. My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister has not yet decided who will occupy this residence. The ground floor of Admiralty House will be available for Government hospitality.

Can my right hon. Friend explain why it should cost £100,000 to put this place in order? Is it because the previous occupant made such a mess of it?

I cannot answer for that, except to say that in 13 years most things concerned with the economy fell into disrepair and decay.

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works what is the cost of the office space being rented by the Ministry of Technology at Mill-bank Tower, S.W.1; what alternative accommodation was offered; and why it was rejected.

It is not the practice to give details of rents paid for Government offices. The only other accommodation considered was a small area in Shell Mex House. It would have been more difficult to provide additional space there.

Would the Parliamentary Secretary confirm or deny that 30,000 sq. ft. have been taken in this building at a cost in rent of £100,000 per annum? Would it not be a good idea if some of the Ministers who are taking up space in the centre of the Metropolis were to consult the Location of Offices Bureau to see whether they cannot go somewhere else where it is less crowded?

I confirm that 30,000 sq. ft. of usable office space have been taken up.

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works what recent plumbing facilities have been authorised on the 11th floor of the Ministry of Technology's offices at Millbank Tower; what they have cost; and under which Vote they were authorised.

No plumbing work has been authorised on the 11th floor of Mill-bank Tower. My Department has sought an estimate of cost for providing separate lavatory and washing facilities for the Minister and senior officials.

Can the Minister say whether he has any plans for installing bathrooms as part of the accommodation? If the average rent per square feet that I have been given in answer to previous Questions is correct, will he not confirm that if someone has a bath in this room once a week it will cost about £7 per bath?

I notice that in the Press publicity in which the hon. Gentleman indulged in advance of this Question he referred to the fact that he had not a bath in his room at the House. [HON. MEMBERS: "Oh."] I only want to tell him, what he probably does not know, that there are, of course, three bathrooms in the House, but perhaps the hon. Gentleman does not bath outside.

Is it not a fact that this tower is now known in Whitehall as the "Corridors of Snow"?

If that is the best the right hon. Gentleman can do for a joke, I suggest that he goes back to Harrogate. It is normal practice for a senior Minister to have a separate lavatory, both under this and the previous Government. There are 28 Ministers who have this facility. Ten have a separate bathroom, including the Minister of Public Building and Works—whose bathroom was installed, of course, over 20 years ago. I could give a list of them, but cleanliness was not unknown, of course, to the previous Administration, and I hope that it will be practised by this one.

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works what has been the expenditure of the Government Hospitality Fund on cigarettes in the last year; and what amount was spent in the last three months.

Expenditure in 1964 was £481. In the three months from 1st November, 1964, to 31st January, 1965, the amount spent dropped to £86.

Does not the right hon. Gentleman find it rather odd that he is spending money on cigarettes for either his friends or his enemies—I do not know which—while at the same time the Government are banning advertising of cigarettes on television? Is not this an indication that the Government are engaging in pure prejudice against independent television companies?

Order. On any conceivable view, that must be asking for an expression of opinion. It is quite out of order.

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works how many new married quarters he proposes to start for the Armed Forces during the next financial year; and for how many of these houses sites are not yet available.

About 3,850 quarters are due to be started in 1965–66. Two sites are not yet available, but negotiations for these should be completed in time for building to start during that year.

In that case, will the Parliamentary Secretary give an undertaking that he will press on with this work as soon as possible?

Yes. The two sites in question are at Boulmer, in Northumberland, for 46 married quarters and at Saxa Vord, in the Shetlands, where 44 married quarters are to be built, and these should present no difficulty.

Is my hon. Friend aware that nothing condemns the previous Administration more than their utter neglect of the interests of married couples in the Services?

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works what was the total of staff, industrial and non-industrial, which his Department took over from the Forces Works Services; and what is the total now employed in work undertaken for the Armed Forces.

My right hon. Friend's Department took over 12,879 non-industrial and 49,858 industrial staff from the Service Departments. Owing to the integration that has taken place since the merger, the number of staff now engaged on work for the Armed Forces cannot be separately identified.

Can the Parliamentary Secretary confirm that, now that this work has been centralised, there will be some resulting economy as well as, we hope, an increase in efficiency through the use of industrial methods?

Yes, Sir. I think that the most striking feature of the work is that the actual amount of works services has gone up from £197 million in 1963–64 to the provision for the coming year of £244 million—an increase of about 25 per cent.—and the expectation is that the number of industrial staff will be reduced by something over 2,000. Therefore, although the non-industrial staff has increased, the work alone indicates that this is an economy. In addition, of course, the Department is undertaking a great deal of pioneering and new work in connection with research and development.

Is my hon. Friend aware that there is a long list of plumbers wanting married quarters, and what does he intend to do about it?

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works what reduction in his total staff he contemplates in the year 1965–66.

My right hon. Friend expects to reduce the total staff, industrial and non-industrial, of the Department by over 2,000 during 1965–66.

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works which of the sites of overseas contracts for which his Department is responsible he has visited or intends to visit.

After completing a tour of all the Ministry's regions in this country, I shall be visiting Germany next month. I hope to visit other overseas regions later in the year in so far as the Parliamentary situation permits.

Does the Minister realise that visits to sites overseas are a tremendous encouragement for the people working there, and is he satisfied with his performance as compared with that of his energetic predecessor?

With regard to the first part of the hon. Gentleman's supplementary question, I think that what is dimly apparent to him is blazing daylight-clear to me. With regard to the remainder of the supplementary question, I can only say that, probably, had the Parliamentary situation been under my predecessor as it is now, even he could not have been the most travelled Minister, as he undoubtedly was.

Would my right hon. Friend persuade the hon. Member for Hemel Hempstead (Mr. Allason) to pair with him?

I would not swop my pair with him.

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works how many square feet of office space now occupied by Government Departments are covered by leases expiring not later than 1972.

In buildings leased by this Ministry, about 10,000,000 sq. ft.

As all office building in Greater London and the Metropolitan area will come to a virtual standstill over the next seven years, does the hon. Gentleman believe that there is likely to be any great difficulty in rehousing these Departments at the expiration of their leases, except at very considerably increased rents, or is it proposed to move them out of London altogether?

Dispersal is a matter for my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer. As to accommodating Departments, many of the leases no doubt will be renegotiated.

What steps is the Minister taking for the replacement of this accommodation when it ceases to be available?

A good deal of Ministry building is going on to provide new building for the Government service as a whole.

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works what use is being made of the Banqueting House in Whitehall.

The Banqueting House is open to the public as an historic building. When it is not so open it can also be made available for certain other purposes, such as important evening receptions, principally those given by the Government, and for suitable entertainments.

How often has the Banqueting House been used for the kind of entertainments he has referred to? How much does the public use it? How often is it used? Is it being used or visited to any extent?

Since the Banqueting House was reopened in September 1964, eight functions have been held there, of which six were receptions and two were concerts. The building has been little used for concerts because the acoustics are not very satisfactory. There is noise from the traffic in Whitehall. We are seeing if means can be found to overcome these drawbacks.

Is my right hon. Friend aware that this very beautifully maintained building justifies more attention from his Department by way of trying to remedy the undoubted rather bleak atmosphere? There is practically nothing in there. The pictures are not the best that Government sources could provide. Further, the building is being visited to a very meagre extent, according to inquiries I made when I visited it a few weeks ago.

I do not know about that. The number of applications I have received to allow the most curious type of functions to be held there, including wedding receptions, tends to make me believe that the Banqueting House is rather well known. Because it is such an exceptional building, I am restricting its use to functions which are themselves of special importance and significant. These must generally be evening functions so as not to interfere with the admission of the public, but I will take note of what my hon. Friend says.

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works when he expects to receive the final report of Sir Leslie Martin on the redevelopment of Whitehall.

Not later than a month from now.

Will the report be made available to Members of the House and, if possible, be published? Is the right hon. Gentleman taking any steps to appoint the architects for the individual projects?

The hon. Gentleman, because of the position he held in my Ministry, will know that there was no commitment to publish, but I hope to publish the report after I have considered it. No architects have been appointed for individual schemes for which I am responsible, except for the Broad Sanctuary scheme, for which Mr. Whitfield is the architect. The scheme will not begin until I have considered Sir Leslie Martin's Report.

Will the Minister consider getting his right hon. Friend the Leader of the House to find some time for a debate on this Report when it is published?

We had better see the report first, but, having had a couple of interviews with Sir Leslie Martin and understanding the scope and ambit of the report and its importance, it seems to me that it would be one of the subjects on which hon. Members on both sides of the House would have something to say.

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works what progress is being made with providing simple office accommodation for Members of Parliament.

I am carrying out the programme described in my reply to my hon. Friend on 1st February. In addition, preparations are proceeding on the scheme to build over Star Chamber Court, which could provide space for nearly 70 Members.

I welcome my right hon. Friend's energy and vigour in this matter, but is he aware that there are still very many Members on both sides of the House who lack any simple office accommodation, that the longer it is left the more difficult it becomes, and that none of these hon. Members, so far as I know, wants separate lavatory or other bathroom accommodation?

I am particularly seized of all this. My hon. Friend came back to the House at the last election and I would ask him to believe that some progress was made in his absence. Three hundred and ten Members now have a separate desk and filing cabinet. A further 21 desk places have recently been equipped in rooms in the Upper Committee Corridor. Between 40 and 50 desk places will be available after the Recess in 54 Parliament Street. Accommodation for a further 28 Members will be made available in the south block of the roof space, which is due for completion in November 1965. The allocation of space in the Star Chamber Court building will be a matter for the House to decide. Therefore, we are making some progress.

Can the right hon. Gentleman say why so many rooms on the upper floor have been allocated to Ministers? Is it because there are so many of them in this Administration?

That supplementary question is getting rather bleak now. It has been asked four or five times since I have been at this Box. The answer is that I am responsible for allocating rooms to Ministers. I am not responsible for allocating rooms to Members.

Does the Minister realise that the accommodation provided for Members in the Library is very efficient and satisfactory in every way but that it could be more satisfactory if Members' papers were left in an orderly condition on their desks when they leave at night?

Order. We cannot deal with the Library as "simple office accommodation".

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works, in view of the expanded building programme, what steps he is taking to ensure an adequate supply of cement.

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works (1) what action he has taken to ensure that the expanding building programme will not be held up by a shortage of cement;

Since last autumn the Department has been discussing with the cement manufacturers the future level of demand for cement and their plans for increasing manufacturing capacity. New capacity is being provided at Westbury in Wiltshire, Weardale in County Durham, at Tunstead in Derbyshire, and Padeswood in Flintshire. The first two are expected to be in production by the autumn of 1965, and the second two by about the end of the year. There are further plans for future extensions, but these are still subject to planning or other considerations and it is not yet possible to give specific dates for their operation or capacity. As a temporary measure six disused kilns in Kent are being brought back into use and supplies of cement clinker for grinding are being imported by the industry. We are, however, worried about possible shortages in the next few months.

In view of my hon. Friend's answer, in further consultations with the cement manufacturers will he take into consideration the position of nearby residents and the constant fall-out of cement dust and consider whether the Government can give any help, in the same way as they have done at London Airport for a different purpose?

We are very conscious of the nuisance to which my hon. Friend refers. My right hon. Friend is responsible for the Alkali Inspectorate and it is well aware of the developments. None of the old kilns will be brought into use without new precipitators being fitted, and I have already promised my hon. Friend that I will visit the sites in question to see that everything possible is done to prevent nuisance.

Is my hon. Friend aware that these cement kilns went out of existence because it was said that precipitators could not be got to take out the dust? In view of the deep passions which have been aroused over the years in Kent by this blight, will my hon. Friend ensure that much more is done to reassure people in the area that they will not again have to suffer for this welcome news about cement? Can we at least expect that the alkali inspectors will visit the area around the clock and not just at office hours?

Yes, Sir.

Can the hon. Gentleman tell the House what is the expected additional annual capacity from the plants to which he referred in his earlier answer, and can he also say whether the industry has been assured that, despite high interest rates, the Government are determined to maintain a sufficient building programme to absorb all the products of these plants when they are in operation?

To answer the second part of that question would require a somewhat categorical assertion which I am sure the right hon. Gentleman would not expect me to make. So far as increased production is concerned, the additional capacity will be about 1½ million tons per annum, which represents a 10 per cent. increase on existing capacity. The difficulty is that this will not come into effect until towards the end of 1965 and, therefore, this is looking even farther ahead than that.

Is the hon. Gentleman satisfied that adequate supplies of cement will be available in the North-West for the two new towns which have recently been announced?

We are not satisfied with cement production generally. I should require notice of that question.

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works to what extent industrialised building systems have been used during 1964 on contracts for Government Departments, local authorities and other public bodies; and how many different systems have been employed.

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works if he will estimate the capital value of constructional work to be carried out on new defence establishments in the next financial year by traditional building methods, and by industrialised building, respectively.

I regret that comprehensive figures are not available for the whole of the public sector. About 17 per cent. of all local authority dwellings started in 1964 and about 21 per cent. of all new schools started in 1963–64 were being built by industrialised methods, involving 50 and 13 systems, respectively. My own Department is increasingly using industrialised methods in its programmes. My Ministry's estimated expenditure next financial year on all major new construction work in the United Kingdom, including civil engineering, at defence establishments, is about £54 million. Of this 8 million will be for industrialised building.

I thank the right hon. Gentleman for that Answer. Can he give an assurance that all industrialised systems which are being developed will he properly considered by his Ministry and that he will give a fair share to those members of the industry who are spending vast sums of money to develop these systems?

Yes, Sir. Both I as Minister of Public Building and Works and my right hon. Friend the Minister of Housing and Local Government are giving not only anxious but continual consideration to these points.

Is my right hon. Friend satisfied with the structural value of the various systems which have been used in this field?

There are too many systems at present. More than 300 have been or are being developed in this country. One of the tasks of the National Building Agency is to recommend to its clients the systems best suited to their needs and in this way to encourage the use of a limited number of the best systems.

Can my right hon. Friend say what proportion of the figures he mentioned has been produced in association with the shipbuilding industry?

No, I am afraid I could not without a separate Question.

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works if he will make a statement on the current state of the supply of building materials.

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works, if he has now made a detailed survey on the availability of building materials; and if he will make a statement.

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works if he is aware of the shortage in Great Britain of building materials; and what are his plans, and how far they are advanced, to meet this shortage in Great Britain instead of importing these materials from abroad.

I have investigated the supply of all the key materials, including those which caused concern in 1964 and I am continuing to watch the position very closely. I expect the present difficulties to diminish during this year in most cases as a result of increases in production, but there may be difficulties over cement during the next few months. With the exception of wood and wood products, imports of most building materials are a very small percentage of home production.

Is my right hon. Friend aware that the vigour of his administration is much appreciated on this side of the House?

Can my right hon. Friend confirm a recent Press statement—

Will the hon. Gentleman please rephrase that supplementary question? In that form it is out of order.

Is it the case that there is to be additional investment in the next four years of £25 million by the brick-makers to increase brick capacity? If so, is my right hon. Friend satisfied that this investment is sufficient to meet the requirements of the industry?

I do not know whether I can answer for all that time ahead, except to say that I have met the brick-makers and I have found them most cooperative. They have agreed with my Ministry on the target to be set for next year and they expect to achieve it.

Does my right hon. Friend realise that this matter has a very important bearing on our national economy and on employment and unemployment in the country? Will he take urgent steps to see that the position is rectified?

I do not know what my hon. and learned Friend means by the position being rectified. I took this job last October and my main preoccupation since has been to see that we get the building materials in the industry and then that we get the houses.

Does the right hon. Gentleman agree that the 15 per cent. surcharge has made building a great deal more difficult and more expensive, especially where wood is concerned?

That is only a marginal consideration here. After all, the 15 per cent. surcharge went right across the board, and if I had wanted examples I would not have chosen these.

In this effort to increase the housebuilding programme, will my right hon. Friend consider the contribution that could be made by the rapidly developing British caravan building industry?

I am afraid the matter of caravans is not one for me.

When the right hon. Gentleman says that the effect of the surcharge on building materials and especially wood is marginal, can he tell the House how much the cost is on the average house?

I think the right hon. Gentleman had better put that question down. We will then have all the percentages worked out. I can only say that I have had a great deal of representation on this point, but none of the advocates of remission who have come before me have ever agreed.

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works if he is aware that the central heating system in the House of Commons is prejudicial to health; and if he will take steps to improve it and the system of ventilation.

I have no reason for supposing that the system is in any way prejudicial to health, but I am always ready to consider suggestions for improvements.

Does my right hon. Friend realise that there is too much hot air in the Chamber, particularly at Question Time, since the last General Election, and that there are not enough stimulating and cooling draughts in the Chamber and elsewhere in Parliament? Will he take steps to rectify these defects?

I think we knew of these things, but it does not come very well from my hon. and learned Friend to suggest that the system in this House is prejudicial to health. During the weekend I have been reading how he starts his day with a run across Hampstead Heath and a dive into the pond. Apart from that, my hon. and learned Friend is always in his place in this House and, all things considered, I think he is an extreme example of what a wonderful place this is to be in.

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works if he will examine the difficulties to applicants for social allowances in the Hartlepools arising from the spread of buildings dealing with pensions, insurance and National Assistance, with a view to integrating these services in a building or buildings more convenient to the public.

The Department is planning to erect a new building to house the two offices of the National Assistance Board together on a site about a quarter of a mile from the present Ministry of Pensions and National Insurance Office.

My hon. Friend has indicated some progress in a field which is of some concern to the local authority in Hartlepools. May I ask him to review this matter again because in this town there is a good deal of extensive central area development, and the possibility may arise of minimising the difficulties to the public?

The Ministry of Pensions and National Insurance is in good accommodation held on a long lease, and re-housing would not be justified at present on economic grounds. As to the proposal for a new building, this is scheduled to start in 1967 and will be ready for occupation in two years. Although I would undertake to look at the point, I think one would have to be rather careful about altering plans which are going ahead and which will almost certainly relieve the problems which my hon. Friend has posed.

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works why his Department disclosed to the Press details of the proposed future form of control of the Palace of Westminster before they were announced in the House.

My Department has made no such disclosures.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that that remark will be received with great satisfaction? Does it not further strengthen the argument for his making up his mind as quickly as possible and so putting an end to all speculation in the Press?

The assumption in the Question would be considered mendacious, if that phrase is in order, but we were not responsible for putting this out. I must say that the exact conditions of the matters to which the hon. Member refers in the Question are now common knowledge to the two Front Benches. A great many people know about them and the Prime Minister has indicated that in his time, when he is ready for it, and this has been cleared everywhere, he will make a statement.

Is my right hon. Friend aware that there is, or appears to have been, a very detailed leak indeed? If this publication be true, could he investigate? If it be a lie, could he report it to the Press Council?

I cannot be responsible for the wild guesses that appear in the Press from time to time. There is a difficulty for anyone placed in the position that I am in, knowing all that has taken place. The only thing I always fear is that the truth will appear. [Laughter.] It does not bother me in the slightest if inaccurate reports appear. Nobody can say that they belong to me.

I would be right in assuming, would I not, that the right hon. Gentleman has associated himself with the Prime Minister's pledge or undertaking that this is a matter for Parliament and that Parliament will debate it before any final decisions are arrived at? Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that that pledge was repeated to my right hon. and learned Friend the Member for The Wirral (Mr. Selwyn Lloyd) only last Thursday?

The hon. Lady's right hon. and learned Friend knows all that is going on here and is very much in our confidence as being the prime usual channel on her side of the House. The hon. Lady must assume that I am as sensitive to the rights of the Legislature as anybody here.

asked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance when she expects to receive the report of the McCorquodale Committee.

It is too early yet to say: the Committee is at present hearing oral evidence.

Is the right hon. Lady Lady aware of the great interest there is among the disabled in the outcome of this Report? Will she undertake that the bulk of the Report will be published as soon as possible after it has been received?

In answer to the first part of the hon. Member's supplementary question, certainly all disabled ex-Service men are extremely interested. I can give the hon. Member an assurance that the Committee is working hard. It was constituted only in October, 1964. It has had four meetings and is having a fifth tomorrow. The Medical Sub-Committee is also meeting. Whenever the Report is ready, consideration will be given to the question of publishing it or not.

asked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance how many seasonal workers signed the register for employment in 1964; and how many seasonal workers were refused unemployment benefit in the same year.

I regret that the information requested is not available. The total number of claims for unemployment benefit in 1964 which were disallowed on the grounds that the additional conditions for seasonal workers were not satisfied was about 4,100.

Will my hon. Friend reconsider the position of the seasonal worker who becomes unemployed? If he considers it right and proper to do so, will he make the change in respect of the seasonal workers so that it will coincide with the changed rate of unemployment benefit?

This is a very difficult question to answer. [HON. MEMBERS: "Have a go."] My hon. Friend will realise that the National Insurance Commissioner has held that a three-year pattern of seasonal work establishes a strong presumption that the person concerned has become a seasonal worker. It therefore follows that the three-year criterion is normally applied and by the time that the seasonal worker has been classified as such he has had three substantial off-season periods during which he has received the benefits for which the ordinary claimant qualifies.

In consideration of the fact that every previous Minister for years has made a study of this problem and the fact that the present Government do not seem to mind reviews, may I ask whether the hon. Gentleman would have a review made of the whole position of the seasonal worker?

I cannot answer specifically today that the seasonal worker's position will be reviewed in the near future, but the hon. Member will be aware that unemployment benefit is intended for the unemployed person who was effectively in full employment. It is not designed to give insurance cover for situations where there can be no expectation of employment and consequently no insurable contingency.

asked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance whether she will now introduce the income guarantee scheme.

I cannot yet indicate how soon the Government's proposals are likely to be ready. Work on the income guarantee is proceeding as quickly as possible.

Does the right hon. Lady realise that her personal failure to implement this pledge is one of the scandals of the present Administration? Does she not recollect that as far back as 1963 she herself said that this scheme had been subjected to the most detailed and rigorous technical, financial and actuarial advice and the Prime Minister himself said that it would be introduced without delay? Can the right hon. Lady say whether legislation has even been drafted at present?

It is interesting to hear of the feelings of the noble Lord. [HON. MEMBERS: "Answer."] Yes, I shall answer in my own way. The noble Lord's Government were in power for 13 years and in this matter of covering people who should be covered by an income guarantee nothing at all was done. We have been in power for five months. [HON. MEMBERS: "Too long."] In two weeks' time the retirement pensioners will receive the biggest increase that they have had since 1946. Those drawing National Assistance will also have the biggest increase ever given. I can assure the noble Lord that things are going on very quickly. I do not accept that it is a scandal that in five months I have not been able to do what his Government could not do in 13 years.

Is my right hon. Friend aware that the work which she has done and the energy which she has applied to her Department will cause millions of our people to rejoice at the end of the month?

Is the right hon. Lady aware that many hon. Members opposite said that when this national incomes scheme was introduced it would be introduced without a means test? Is that still her policy? What is to be the cost of the scheme? The present Government were in opposition for 13 years and that surely should have been enough time to work out the cost.

The hon. Member will have no difficulty in finding out what we said about the scheme if he reads "New Frontiers for Social Security" where it was made perfectly clear that it would be a minimum income guarantee.

Does my right hon. Friend appreciate the most unusual compliment she has just received from the hon. Member for Hertford (Lord Balniel), who thinks that it is a personal scandal that she has not been able to do in five months what he and his right hon. and hon. Friends neglected to do in 13 years?