§ MR. WEIRTo ask the hon. Member for Chorley, as representing the First Commissioner of Works, if he will state the names of the firms invited to tender for the new ventilating plant required for the better ventilation of the House of Commons; and, seeing that the recommendations given by James Keith and Company before a Parliamentary Committee have been largely adopted, will he say why this firm was not invited to tender.
(Answered by Lord Balcarres.) The type of inlet fan selected for the work now in progress is that manufactured by Messrs. Matthews and Yates of Manchester. Whatever recommendations may have been made by Mr. Keith, they do not govern the question of the exact type of appliances to be used in giving effect to the Committee's independent decisions. The order for the extracting fan has not yet been placed owing to certain structural difficulties which have arisen. The remainder of the appliances have been designed in the Office of Works and it is not proposed to apply to manufacturers of specialities in this connection.