§ 14. Mr. J. H. Hareasked the Minister of Fuel and Power whether he will now make a statement concerning the investigations he promised to carry out regarding the expenditure by the Eastern Electricity Board of more than £110,000 for the adaptation of Whersted House as their headquarters.
§ The Minister of Fuel and Power (Mr. Geoffrey Lloyd)The Eastern Electricity Board bought Whersted House for £20,000 in 1948. The building was extended and repairs were necessary owing to damage by death watch beetle and dry rot. The total spent, including purchase, was £103,500. I am informed that the work has been completed within the amount authorised by my predecessor.
§ Mr. HareDoes my right hon. Friend think that the late Government were justified in allowing such a lavish amount to be spent on this nationalised headquarters when, in fact, there was a very considerable shortage of labour and materials needed for housing and other important purposes at the time?
§ Mr. LloydI should not like to make detailed comments on a particular case. [An HON. MEMBER: "Why not?"] Because I think it is more important to get the present and the future right than to investigate the past. I have impressed on the Electricity Authority the need for the strictest economy in regard to offices, showrooms and the like.