asked the Minister of Public Building and Works whether he will consider providing a dual-purpose building to act as a lecture hall and cinema at the Tower of London; and whether he will make a statement.

I am considering plans for the Waterloo Block at the Tower which include provision for a dual-purpose lecture room cinema.

I thank my right hon. Friend for that very satisfactory reply. May I take it that he is considering this matter as one of urgency?

At the moment we are involved in what is called phase one of the rebuilding and the two top floors are being converted. I understand that this is due to be completed by the end of 1970. The work to which I have referred in my main Answer is phase two. My problem is to get the money to do the job.

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works how many public statues and memorials to individual persons are located in London, which come under his Department's jurisdiction; how often they are cleaned and maintained; what criteria are applied to their removal or replacement; and when the last was erected.

I am responsible only for certain of those Public statues and memorials sited within the Metropolitan Police District. There are 75 of these commemorating individual persons. Their cleaning and maintenance is carried out periodically, the frequency varying according to circumstances. They are not removed or replaced unless there are special reasons for doing so. The last to be erected was the bust of Admiral Cunningham, which was unveiled in Trafalgar Square in April, 1967.

Would the righ hon. Gentleman not agree that some of the statues are grievously out of date and commemorate people of whom the modern generation have not even heard? Is it not time that they became a little more relevant and were substituted by statues of outstanding men and women of the current century?

These are all matters of opinion and I will take advice on them, but I thought that statues were to remind people of yester-years as well as today.

Is my right hon. Friend aware that not long ago Paris had a purge of statues and improved the beauty of Paris very much? Will he consider giving Earl Haig back to the Distillers' Company?

I have a great deal of affection for my hon. Friend. I think that if he goes on as he is going on, we shall have to put a statue up to him.

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works what proposals he has for the utilisation of industrial waste materials for the building industry.

As a result of continuing work by the Building Research Station and other bodies, the building industry uses substantial and increasing quantities of aggregates derived from industrial waste, amounting in some cases to almost the entire output. Large quantities are used also in civil engineering. The station is helping to promote the use of these materials.

I thank my right hon Friend for that reply. Would he not agree that as two nationalised industries, the National Coal Board and the C.E.G.B., are the largest producers of industrial waste, it would be a good idea to initiate discussions with them to ensure that the waste materials are used in the national interest?

I understand that there are consultations going on in the sense for which my hon. Friend asks. I understand that an appreciable amount of colliery shale is processed into aggregate. There are difficulties about existing tips. I gather that there is an enormous quantity. It is unlikely, I am advised, that the use of this material in construction can make a dramatic contribution to their removal.

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works when he plans to take over responsibility for the drafting, revising and administration of the Building Regulations.

These Regulations are the responsibility of my right hon. Friend the Minister of Housing and Local Government. No steps are being taken to change the existing arrangements.

Would not my right hon. Friend agree that his Department is professionally better equipped to deal with matters arising out of the Building Regulations than is his right hon. Friend's Department, in which there are no senior engineering staff?

My hon. Friend knows that I am not a modest type. I agree with her that my Department is probably the best Government Department of all. Having said that, I must inform her that I am in some difficulty in that she is really asking the wrong Minister the right sort of question.

Does the right Gentleman agree that responsible people in the construction industry believe that it is time that the Building Regulations were again brought up to date to take account of modern knowledge? As his Ministry is the best one to deal with this matter, will he approach the Minister of Housing and Local Government on the issue?

I thank the hon. Gentleman for that comment. At the end of the day, Ministerial responsibility can be decided only by the Prime Minister. If the construction industry feels as enthusiastically about this as the hon. Gentleman indicates, it might care to write to the Prime Minister on the subject.

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works why permission was refused for the inaugural parade of the Festival of London Stores to be held in Hyde Park on 26th May.

Permission was refused because it is my policy, as it was my predecessors', to preserve the Royal parks as places where the public at large can enjoy reasonable peace and quiet in a rural atmosphere. I am also concerned to safeguard the parks from exploitation for commercial purposes.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that the parade was held in Hyde Park last year, I understand successfully? Will he confirm that the reason for the refusal this year had nothing to do with any allegation of mismanagement of the parade last year?

The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right and I give him that assurance. Those concerned have a first-class reputation. A precedent was set in this matter last year. That is the trouble with giving permission of this sort. Once granted, a precedent is set. Last year permission was given to create good will for tourism and exports. I suppose that, permission having been given, it was inevitable that people would want the same the following year. Once permission is given to one commercial concern it is thought that it must be given to others, and that I am not prepared to accept.

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works which monuments under his control have suffered most damage from vandalism during the past two years.

There were a few incidents, usually minor ones, at a relatively small number of the 722 ancient monuments in my care. The problem has been a more continual worry at one or two places.

Would my right hon. Friend be more specific and give the possible sociological consequences of his reply? Which monuments have sustained the most damage, what type of damage has been sustained and what is his Department doing to repair it?

The three monuments concerned are Peter Pan—they regularly steal his pipes—Queen Victoria—they are always stealing her sceptre—and Achilles—they keep pinching his fig leaf. My Department, being dynamic, is ready for all eventualities and has stocks of pipes, sceptres and fig leaves.

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works how many residential premises under the control of his Department are used for commercial or storage purposes.

About 200 premises, originally residential or hotels, are now owned by my Ministry and used for office, storage or similar purposes.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that a recent B.B.C. programme indicated that residential premises under his Department's control were being used for commercial purposes? Is he aware that the homeless find it distressing to hear of such premises being used for commercial purposes? Will he give an assurance that residential premises will be used only for residential purposes?

I willingly make an offer to the hon. Gentleman. If he knows, or can get to know, of any premises that we are using for storage purposes which ought to be converted to residential purposes, I will look into the matter as quickly as possible. I am advised that the premises which we now own are in streets or in other locations which are zoned for office use in town plans and have ceased to be regarded as residential accommodation. I can do no more than make this offer to the hon. Gentleman.

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works what estimate he has made of the effect of the Government's fiscal and monetary policies over the last 13 months on the construction industry.

I cannot distinguish the effects of the Government's fiscal and monetary policies from the effects of all the other factors which bear on the construction industry.

That is not a particularly helpful Answer. Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that civil engineers and others working on fixed-price contracts have been gravely hit by rising S.E.T. in the last 13 months? What concern has he about this and what does he propose to do about it?

I know all about civil engineers and fixed-price contracts. I have virtually had to live with this matter for the last few days. I am indeed concerned with the problem and I am having consultations with my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer. I hope that the hon. Gentleman will forgive me if I do not answer the part of his supplementary question concerned with S.E.T. because later Questions on the subject appear on the Order Paper.

What has the right hon. Gentleman done within the Government about the suggestion made by my hon. Friend the Member for Glasgow. Cathcart (Mr. Edward M. Taylor) in March that house builders should be put in the priority class for loans? Will he draw the fig leaf aside on this one?

I do not know about drawing fig leaves aside, but certainly Achilles' weakness was his heel. I could not answer that question without notice. I have given an Answer to the Question I was asked; but I will certainly see if there is anything that we can do about housing as a separate entity.

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works what is the current annual sale of season tickets to ancient monuments for which his Department is responsible.

About 35,000 in 1968.

Would the right hon. Gentleman agree that these season tickets represent excellent value? What steps is he taking to try to increase their sale? Has he considered providing a financial incentive to members of his Department who sell them at the various sites throughout the country?

I am obliged to the hon. Gentleman for the good will that he has shown in this matter. He is right in saying that they are good value. We advertise in the Press, in our publications and at the monuments for which we have responsibility. We are having discussions with the British Travel Association about the possibility of an overseas visitor's season ticket. We are doing all we can, but if the hon. Gentleman has any other ideas we will willingly consider them.

While congratulating my right hon. Friend on his Department's decision to advertise these tickets in the national Press, would he consider placing advertisements in other appropriate media, such as the publications of the National Trust and the Council for the Preservation of Rural England?

I have taken note of my hon. Friend's suggestion and I will see whether or not that can be done.

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works whether he will set up a committee to advise him on the erection of a public memorial in London to President Eisenhower.

I think the first thing to establish is whether there is broad public support for this proposal, and I am sure we are all grateful to the hon. Gentleman for stimulating interest in it.

Would the right hon. Gentleman bear in mind when considering this matter, that action of this kind might do something to wipe out the unhappy memory of the Government's mishandling of this country's representation at President Eisenhower's funeral?

That is a regrettable supplementary question. The hon. Gentleman could not be more wrong if he thinks that special regard for President Eisenhower is had only on the benches opposite. His supplementary is not worth a reply, and I shall not give one.

Would it not help to widen the choice of suitable sites for this and other purposes if some of the horrible statues which are now cluttering up Central London were thinned out a little?

My hon. Friend may have been a little late in entering the Chamber. We dealt with that question earlier.

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works what is the latest estimate he has made of the economic effect on the building industry of the introduction of the metric system; and if he will make a statement.

It is as yet impossible to work out a reliable estimate of cost. Much will depend on the place at which the change takes place; if it goes according to plan, increased costs should be kept to a minimum, and the counterveiling benefits will be that much greater.

Is my right hon. Friend aware that certain building interests have already reported that the introduction of the metric system will result in an increase of 1 per cent. in building costs, which will mean dearer homes, hospitals, clinics and so on? Would he care at this stage unequivocally to refute that claim?

I could not refute such a claim because I am convinced that in the short term there will be increased costs. It is the long-term benefits of which there can be no doubt. It should be remembered that in the decision to go metric we have had the support of the construction industry as a whole. What the industry has already done in this connection is of great credit to it.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that we are disturbed to hear that no estimate has been made of the cost of this, particularly since it must be a relevant part of the whole change-over? Are not the industry and the country entitled to be given some idea of what this change will cost?

If one is to make estimates one must be sure of the facts. We must first get the industry off the ground as it were from the point of view of going metric. We have already done an enormous amount of work in this direction. No doubt the time will arrive when we can give an honest estimate of the cost, but at this stage I cannot do that.

Is it not a fact that whether or not we go metric the brick makers will continue to make bricks of the traditional size, 9 ins. by 4½ ins. or whatever it may be? Is not my right hon. Friend aware that those dealing with specifications involving brick work are faced with mathematical calculations involving three or four place decimals and are completely bewildered by this change? Is he also aware that bricks will not be altered in size, whatever the measurement is called?

I trust that my hon. Friend does not think that he is the only person who has been dealing with brick problems. I have met representatives of the industry on this and other issues and I assure my hon. Friend that they have said nothing half as worrying as my hon. Friend's comments.

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works whether he will announce his policy on firm price contracts in relation to the construction industry.

I am satisfied that the policy of firm price contracts in the construction industry is sound and should continue. The policy adopted by Government and recommended to public authorities is to invite tenders on a firm price basis where the contract period is two years or less and where the work has been thoroughly pre-planned.

Apart from the question of S.E.T., which the Minister has already referred to, can he say whether these contracts do cover all possible fluctuations in taxation? If not, how can he expect to get realistic firm price tenders if the situation is liable to be upset by Government action over taxation?

The hon. Gentleman is entitled to his view. The vast majority of the building industry is covered by the fluctuation clauses in the R.I.B.A. form of contract; the exception is a tiny few. There is an anomaly with regard to the civil engineers, about which I am in discussions with my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer. I understand that the industry welcomes fixed price contracts in principle.

Surely the Minister will concede that since the public sector is the client for 90 per cent. of civil engineering work there must be an unanswerable case for allowing proper fluctuation clauses in respect of S.E.T?

I am discussing the matter with other Ministers and can say no more about it, except that I am alerted to the problem.

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works what further representations he has received about the effect on the construction industry of Selective Employment Tax; and what replies he has sent.

I invited representatives of the industry to meet me immediately after the Budget, and the effects of S.E.T. were discussed, and I have since had letters from them expressing their views.

Is the Minister aware that the industrial correspondent of the Financial Times estimates the extra burden of S.E.T. for the building industry at between £30 million and £40 million a year? Does he dispute this estimate? Does not he concede that this would put up the price of houses and reduce the rate of housing building?

I had a Press conference the day after I met the industry, and I said that the increase of S.E.T. would be between £32 million and £35 million, and that the N.F.B.T.E. estimate of about £35 on a £5,000 house is about right.

Is my right hon. Friend aware of the way in which this extra twist will mean that thousands more will leave the construction industry to be self-employed, and of the disastrous effect this has on the trade union movement? Will he discuss this problem with his fellow Ministers with a view to introducing an Amendment in Committee on the Finance Bill?

I am aware of the danger of labour-only sub-contractors, whose numbers are growing. It is hoped very much that we shall be able to bring legislation before the House which will deal with that as a quite separate problem from S.E.T.

Is not the Minister concerned from another point of view? It costs an employer £6 to get an operative on the site before he even does a stroke of work. Having given the industry a very sympathetic impression with regard to its case over S.E.T., will the Minister now show it some action?

I have already said that I understand the industry's point of view. Representations are being made to other Ministers concerned. I can say no more than that at present.

Is the Minister really going to refrain from mentioning the effect on jobs as a result of S.E.T.? In particular, is he prepared to say that there will be no decrease in the number of jobs in this industry in Scotland as a result of the increase in S.E.T.?

The industry is one in which output improved by an average of 4 per cent. over the past five or six years with a lower labour force.

That is no answer.

I am answering the question as a whole; the hon. Lady asked me a question and she must wait for the answer. I am telling her that we are doing more work with fewer men employed, because the industry is becoming more mechanically-minded, using modern techniques and producing more with fewer men. I should have thought that the whole nation wanted that as a principle.

That means fewer jobs.

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works whether he will make a further statement about brick stocks.

At the end of March stocks of bricks were provisionally estimated at 947 million.

As brick production is lower than in September, 1964, when the Prime Minister called for a dramatic increase in production, should not manufacturers be producing more bricks? But as brick stocks are now at an all-time record high, what will manufacturers do with the extra bricks?

I dealt with this matter the last time I answered Questions. The industry produces X number of bricks. I did not ask it to produce that number. It did it because it expected a certain demand, and its anticipations were wrong. This is a private enterprise sector of industry, and I am not responsible for any over-estimation it makes.

Does the Minister recognise that the brick industry has had the worst winter in living memory and that many firms have been forced into bankruptcy? Could he give any indication as to how he sees brick stocks being gradually run down over the next two or three months?

As the hon. Gentleman rightly said, one problem has been the appalling weather, certainly in the early part of this year. The brick stocks built up. I have written to my right hon. Friend the Minister of Housing and Local Government to see whether we can have earlier starts inside the public sector, because I want to help the industry. I am not so much concerned with the immediate future. It is the present that I am concerned with.

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works what estimate he has formed of demand in building works in the 1970s, in the light of recent monetary measures.

Demand for new work is likely to increase at an average annual rate of about 4 per cent. in 1969 and 1970, and I have no reason for thinking that the rate of increase in the 1970s will be very different.

How does the Minister see such an increase in the construction programme being financed, in view of the very stringent measures now in force? Would not the right hon. Gentleman admit to some serious concern as to the plight of small builders, who face an almost insurmountable problem?

The plight of the small builder has always been difficult. As we move into the 1970s, they will have a bigger tussle, whatever Government are in power, because more and more work is being done by fewer and fewer but larger firms. This is the present trend in the industry. I hope very much that the Government's legislation on the improvement of older houses will give smaller builders some work that they have previously been denied.

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works what representations he has received from the National Federation of Building Trades Employers about British Standard Time; and whether he will make a statement.

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works if he will give details of the representations he has received from the building industry about increased costs and loss of productivity on building sites as a result of British Standard Time; and what reply he has sent.

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works what further action is to be taken arising out of Her Majesty's Government's consideration of the representation made to him by builders regarding British Standard Time.

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works what further representations he has received from builders about British Standard Time; and what reply he has sent.

I have nothing to add to my reply to the hon. Member for Perth and East Perthshire (Mr. MacArthur) on 24th March, 1969.—[Vol. 780, c. 233.]

Is it not increasingly clear that B.S.T. is increasing costs and slowing down production? Can we afford that? Will the right hon. Gentleman press the Home Secretary to bring forward the review?

The National Federation of Building Trade Employers prepared a memorandum at my request about British Standard Time, which came before my National Consultative Council. It was discussed there, and as a consequence I have made representations to my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary about the N.F.B.T.E.'s concern.

Has it not been made clear to the Minister in the memorandum to which he referred that it is not only the employers who object to B.S.T., because of its effect on costs, but also the employees, who object on grounds of convenience?

It is perfectly fair to say that the unions agree with the employers, although for not quite the same reasons. The unions thought that many more sites should have much greater illumination anyway. The National Consultative Council was not completely unanimous that British Standard Time should be stopped.

Did not the memorandum show that not only had productivity declined as a result of B.S.T. but that the accident rate had increased? As the Secretary of State for Scotland seems to have been unable to make any impression on the mulish obstinacy of the Home Secretary in the matter, will the right hon. Gentleman renew his effort to get the Home Secretary to think again—and quickly?

I am generally reluctant to draw conclusions from short-term movements in the accident rate, because it fluctuates considerably from year to year and at various periods, and I would not like to say that the increase in the accident rate is due to B.S.T. My right hon. Friend will have to look at these fluctuations nationally when considering British Standard Time.

Whilst the right hon. Gentleman is obviously very proud of the industry's increased production and efficiency, does he not recognise that British Standard Time reduces the efficiency of the industry for which he is responsible?

The industry has a special point of view, and has a right to express it. It has done so, and I have put it forward to the appropriate quarters. I can do no more.

In view of the results of the survey, is it not time the Minister pressed the Government specifically that the assessment be turned into a full-scale review, perhaps leading to the abandonment of British Standard Time in the two darkest months?

Those are the sort of questions which must be asked of my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary. It must be said, in fairness to him, that he has to consider the effect of B.S.T. not simply from the construction industry point of view, important as that is, but from the point of view of the country as a whole. There is no unanimous view on this side of the House, and I doubt whether there is on the opposite side.

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works what representations he has received from the construction industry about difficulties in relation to obtaining scaffolding and other equipment; and if he will make a statement.

None, Sir.

Does not the Minister think it worth looking into the matter, since there seems to be delay?

I have close contact with the industry and if such problems exist the industry will tell me. There is another side to this question. The Construction Industry Training Board wanted to set up a scaffolding course. I should have thought that was a simple enough proposition, but it had to consult over 20 different organisations before it could get it off the ground.

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works whether he will make a statement about the use of winter building techniques.

My Department is continuing its campaign to bring home to builders the benefits of using winter building techniques and equipment through films, press articles, lectures and exhibitions. This campaign is backed by research effort to ensure that the information disseminated is fully up to date.

Is not the expansion of winter building hindered by the difficulty of obtaining investment grants for equipment as a result of the present discretionary grant system and the confusion which this causes?

No, that is not true. I know that some individual firms would say this, and I know that there are anomalies with the smaller pieces of equipment which do not qualify. But those firms that have embarked on winter building equipment get the investment grants on a broader base, and they find this an enormous advantage. Many firms are now swinging over to using these modern techniques.

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works what estimate he has made of the effect on the construction industry of the latest budgetary measures; and if he will make a statement.

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works what is his percentage estimate of the increase in cost to the construction industry of the latest Budget proposals.

The direct effect of the Budget proposals will be an increase of about 0·75 per cent. in construction costs.

In view of the replies which the Minister gave to my hon. Friends the Members for Meriden (Mr. Speed) and Ludlow (Mr. More) on the subject of Selective Employment Tax and his talks with the Chancellor, does not he agree that where the Government are one party to a contract it is grossly inequitable that they should increase S.E.T.?

I wonder whether the hon. Gentleman listened to my earlier reply. I explained that the 50 per cent. of the building industry employed on Government contracts is covered by the fluctuation clause. Let us have credit where credit is due. The problem is with civil engineering and—if I have said it once this afternoon I have said it three or four times—I am in discussion on this with my colleagues in the Government.

Will the Minister reconsider that reply and admit that he has misled the House? How can he make an assessment of the extra cost when the Chancellor of the Exchequer will not tell us the extra contributions which will be needed to pay for the increase in pensions? The Minister has already said that £35 will be added to the cost of a house by Selective Employment Tax. How can he suggest that the total figure will be less when it will have to include all the other expenses, including the 2d. a gallon on petrol?

With repect, the hon. Gentleman is the last person who should be talking to me about misleading the House. If the Press is correct, within minutes of the Chancellor making his Budget Statement the hon. Gentleman ran upstairs to his Committee and informed his colleagues that he had done his sums and that £100 would be added to the cost of a £5,000 house as a result of S.E.T. He was £65 out. He cannot even add up right!

Does the Minister realise that whereas he is being pressed from the other side of the House about the marginal effect of £25 on the cost of a £4,000 house because of S.E.T., we do not hear from the other side about the enormous cost of the land required for building the house, which might account for a quarter of the cost of a £4,000 house? The enormous inflation of land value is a major factor in the inflated value of houses.

It must also go on record that in the last four or five years the output of the building industry has increased by thousands of millions of pounds worth of work. The construction industry has done this work and has gained profits as a consequence.

The Minister has said three times that he is consulting other Departments on the problems of the building industry. He sponsors the industry; what the House would like to hear is that he is battling for it. In view of the squeeze on bank loans, increased mortgage interest rates, increased S.E.T., and the extra contributions, does the Minister realise that the industry is being clobbered to a point which is dangerous for the nation?

The hon. Gentleman is suggesting that the construction industry, like many other industries, wants to be exempt from all matters affecting the economic difficulties of this nation. We are a debtor nation and we must get out of debt. When we do, the nation's construction output will go up and the industry will do better than it has ever done before.

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works what parts of the site previously allocated for the British Museum's library have been sold or are being offered for sale.

None, Sir. As I indicated in the House on 27th November, 1967, I am awaiting the Dainton Committee Report before taking action to dispose of the properties my Ministry has acquired by voluntary purchase.—[Vol. 755, c. 8–9.]

Is my right hon. Friend aware that his answer will give great satisfaction to those who are interested in the welfare of the British Museum?

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works by what means the heating and ventilating trade is represented on his National Consultative Council.

The Heating and Ventilating Contractors Association is a Constituent of the Committee of Associations of Specialist Engineering Contractors, which has two seats on the National Consultative Council.

As the representation described by the Minister shows how closely linked is the heating industry with the building industry, is he happy about the decision of the Secretary of State for Employment and Productivity to forbid a three-year wage agreement in the building industry and to allow a three-year wage agreement in the heating industry?

I thought that question would arise, although it is not related to the Question on the Order Paper. The hon. Gentleman must ask the First Secretary of State. I did not award the increase; she did.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware of recent studies in the building industry on the advantage of increasing the amount of insulation materials in the roof and walls of buildings, and will he tell us the views of his Ministry on this?

The report on condensation and insulation has just been completed, and I am quite willing to send a copy to the hon. Gentleman and to make a copy available to the House. The heating and ventilating industry will be in great demand and will have at its disposal more new techniques than ever before.

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works when he estimates the former prefab site adjoining Roundwood Park, Willesden, will be completely cleared and the land ready for reinstating.

Clearance, if carried out separately from reinstatement, could probably be completed by mid-August, 1969.

May I thank my right hon. Friend for the way in which his Department has responded to my representations during the last year and facilitated this matter? Is there any way by which he can encourage the Wembley-orientated Borough Council to expedite the development of this site for the benefit of the people of Willesden?

I am prepared to do anything if my hon. Friend puts forward a practical proposition. I am glad that my Ministry has received one complimentary remark this afternoon.

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works what progress he has made with his review of the Mann Reports; and whether he will make a statement.

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works what progress he has made in his consultations with the building trade unions concerning the second and third Reports of the Mann Committee; and whether he will make a statement.

My consultations with the unions are being conducted on a wider basis than the contents of the second and third Reports of the Mann Committee. Discussions on the use of directly employed labour in my Ministry have now reached a definitive stage and I hope to make a statement very soon. Consultations on a possible productivity agreement are also in progress.

I am grateful to the Minister for at long last telling the House that he is about to come and explain to it the results of the Mann Report. I would have hoped that he could have done this before. Did not he recently make a Press statement concerning the number of people employed in his Department and does not he think that the proper place to make such a statement is in the House?

The Report of the Mann Committee was sent to the Minister of the day, and I regard it as confidential to me as Minister. As I have already told the House, it was a sample survey of a very few depots in my Ministry. Based upon the judgment of the Mann Committee, I have now conducted a national survey, on which I carried the unions with me, and I am not prepared, just to please the hon. Gentleman's political view, to publish the Mann Committee's Reports which, in my view, are not indicative of the Ministry as a whole.

If, as the Minister said, this matter is confidential to him, why should the Press be treated to his confidence before the House?

The Press have not been treated to any confidence. That I have said to the Press that I employ directly 32,000 people has no bearing on the Mann Committee's Reports. Anyone in the House who took an interest in my Ministry would be aware of this.

asked the Minister of Public Buildings and Works what further progress has been made towards metrication in the construction industry.

I would refer the hon. Gentleman to my reply to a similar question from the hon. Member for Meriden (Mr. Speed) on 11 th March—[Vol. 779, c. 1159.] Steady progress is being made in accordance with the agreed metrication programme.

In the absence of progress by this Board, which was announced in July last, and which the right hon. Gentleman's right hon. Friend stated would meet in March, is the right hon. Gentleman not aware of the great unhappiness in the construction industry at being left out on a limb in this fashion?

It is not so despondent as all that. In fact, the construction industry has set up its own machinery to deal with metrication. It will welcome the setting up of the Board, and it is important that upon that Board there is a construction representative who will earn the respect of the rest of the industry. I have endeavoured to do that, and I hope that my right hon. Friend the Minister of Technology will make a statement shortly.

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works what improvements he proposes to make to the floodlighting in Trafalgar Square.

A more modern and comprehensive scheme of floodlighting has been installed in the Square which it will be my pleasure to inaugurate this evening. I believe it will make a dramatic impact on the Square. The scheme has been designed by the Society of Illuminating Engineers and will mark the Jubilee Year of the Society. I am most grateful to it for its contribution and for the ready co-operation of the High Commissioner for Canada, the Ambassador for South Africa and the Vicar of St. Martin-in-the-Fields.

Is my right hon. Friend aware that he has earned the congratulations of the whole House for the immense step forward in lighting the capital city, and is he also aware that the work of his Ministry is a credit to him and to the Government? Can he say what support he gets from local authorities and private interests with a view to finding some of the necessary capital?

I am obliged for my hon. Friend's earlier remarks. I think that most people will agree that a good effort has been made in cleaning up and improving Whitehall. I think that we have done a good job, and I think that most people will agree with me. I have had consultations with the Lord Mayor of Westminster, who has readily agreed to try to get the co-operation and good will of private individuals, and I am meeting a number of very important business people to ask them if they will clean their buildings, too.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that the whole House congratulates him on the excellent job which has been done in cleaning up the exterior of Whitehall? What is now needed is a start on the interior.

Having been a Member of this House for 22 years, I can only say to the hon. Gentleman that it is better than it ever was under his party's rule.

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works by what means his Department employs heating and ventilating contractors on Government construction projects; and in accordance with which agreements the operatives are paid.

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works what estimate he has made of the increase in productivity by operatives engaged in heating and ventilating work on Government construction contracts in 1969.

On Government construction projects heating and ventilating work is generally undertaken by nominated sub-contractors. The nomination will usually be made after competitive tenders have been invited from firms selected from the Ministry's approved list of specialist sub-contractors.

While thanking the Minister for that reply, perhaps I should avail myself of the opportunity to accept his invitation and refer this question to his right hon. Friend the First Secretary.

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works by What means his Department collects and records information as to movements in building costs.

I would refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave the hon. Member for Meriden (Mr. Speed) on 11th March, 1969.—[Vol. 779, c. 1160]

Are the present resources of the right hon. Gentleman's statistical branch adequate to keep pace with all the cost increases resulting from a Budget which is most damaging to the building industry?

All that I can say is that the resources available to the industry are appreciated very much by the industry itself.

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works what representations he received during March from specialised engineering contractors regarding delays in deliveries of steel in the East Midlands area; and what action he has taken.

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works what evidence he received during March from specialist engineering contractors regarding delays in deliveries of steel in the East Midlands area; and what action he has taken.

None, Sir, but at a meeting of the East Midland Regional Joint Committee held on 20th February, 1969, a representative of specialist engineering contractors mentioned, without giving details, that there had been delays in the delivery of steel of up to 12 weeks.

While thanking the Minister for that reply, is he aware that engineers in the East Midlands are concerned about delays of 12 weeks since the nationalisation of steel? What is to be done about it?

As no details of complaints were provided, no further action was taken. If the hon. Gentleman has details and cares to send them to me, I will undertake to investigate them.

Is the Minister aware that the construction industry in the East Midlands is working substantially below capacity because of the shortage of steel? Can he tell us whether there is any connection between this and the forthcoming increase in steel prices?

I doubt that very much. If the hon. Gentleman has any complaints, I extend the same invitation to him. If he will let me have details in writing, I will investigate them properly without these rumours across the Floor of the House.