§ 26. Mr. Emrys Hughesasked the Secretary of State for Scotland what proposals he has recently received from the Ayr County Council for the possession of a suitable building for a library for Mauchline; and if he will give his approval to them.
§ Miss HerbisonAyr County Council recently proposed that a branch library should be provided in conjunction with a new clinic which they plan to erect at Mauchline. Owing to restrictions on capital investment, work on education authority libraries must be limited for the time being to essential maintenance or to minor adaptations which will put an end to highly undesirable conditions in the building.
§ Mr. HughesMay I ask the hon. Lady, more in sorrow than in anger, whether she is open to persuasion on this point because of Mauchline's literary associations and the fact that it has not got a decent library?
§ Miss HerbisonI am always open to give consideration to matters such as this, but I am certain that the hon. Member realises that in Ayrshire, and in other places, labour is needed for housing purposes.
§ Mr. ManuelIs the hon. Lady aware that this concerns a population of over 3,000 people; that Mauchline is completely lacking in social amenities; that there are no playing fields, and that the books in the existing library are kept in boxes? Could not some little extension be made to the clinic which she has authorised, to enable the books to be kept in a proper way and to be issued as they ought to be?
§ Miss HerbisonAgain, this is a question of how we will use capital on education. This money would come from education funds, and at present we need many schools for many purposes. It is much more important that money should go on schools even if we are to go without a library.