FESTIVAL OF BRITAIN, 1951

HC Deb 10 February 1949 vol 461 cc527-9

46. Mrs. Jean Mann

asked the Lord President of the Council what amount will be spent in 1949 and 1950 on the preparations for the 1951 Exhibition; by whom will it be borne; and what amount of labour will be diverted for this purpose.

The Lord President of the Council (Mr. Herbert Morrison)

I take it that my hon. Friend refers to the exhibitions to be held on the South Bank of the Thames and elsewhere in connection with the Festival of Britain, 1951. No estimates have yet been drawn up of the amount to be spent in preparation of these exhibitions in 1950, but estimates for the financial year 1949–50 will be published shortly. In this connection, I would refer the hon. Member to my reply to the hon. Member for South Edinburgh (Sir W. Darling) on 7th February. Apart from normal allied services, the direct cost will be borne by the Festival of Britain Office, which it is proposed shall be granted a separate Vote for this purpose and for carrying out the other responsibilities with which it is charged in preparing for the Festival. Insufficient work has yet been done on the planning of the exhibitions to enable any useful estimates to be made of the labour required.

Mr. Hector Hughes

May I take it that, while the cost of this Exhibition will be borne by the United Kingdom as a whole, every part of the United Kingdom will have its products adequately shown, particularly Scotland?

Mr. Morrison

Scotland, as I explained the other day, will have a separate committee and various things will be arranged there. The whole of the cost in connection with London, and particularly in relation to the Bill to be considered today, will not come out of Government funds. There will be charges upon other authorities.

Mr. Francis Noel-Baker

When my right hon. Friend talks of the preparations on the South Bank and elsewhere, does he include the possibility of extending part of the Festival of Britain to the Borough of Brentford and Chiswick?

Mr. Morrison

My hon. Friend knows that I have recently visited his constituency, and I have a feeling that the vigor- ous people in that neighbourhood will be doing something on their own initiative.

Mrs. Mann

Apart from celebrating the return of the Labour Government in 1950, what are we celebrating in 1951?

Mr. Morrison

It would not be right for me to go into the first matter, but with regard to what we are celebrating in 1951, we are celebrating the centenary of the great Exhibition of 1851, and the great progress Britain has made in various fields since that time—[HON. MEMBERS: "Under Tory rule."]—of course, I knew that those few comforting words would be received with satisfaction on the other side—in industry, science, and so on.