§ 57. Mr. MATTERSasked the First Commissioner of Works the gross cost to date of structure, installations, furniture, etc., of the Houses of Parliament; and what sum it is still proposed to spend to save the stonework from decay?
§ The FIRST COMMISSIONER of WORKS (Mr. Lansbury)To reply to my hon. Friend's question would call for an examination into the accounts for the past 90 years—a task of such magnitude as I am afraid I could not require to be undertaken. It is impossible to state how much money it will be necessary to spend on the restoration of the stonework, as the greater part of the building has not yet been surveyed. The cost has, however, been tentatively estimated as being in the neighbourhood of £1,000,000.
Sir NAIRNE STEWART SANDEMANWould the work not have been finished long ago, and at a lesser expenditure, had the contract been in the hands of private enterprise?
§ Mr. LANSBURYAs I had nothing to do with it until the last eight or nine months, that question had better be put to somebody else.
§ Mr. LANSBURYYes.