§ Mr. SpeakerI have a statement to make about the activities of the Committee helping us with accommodation.
The Committee which I reappointed on 21st November under the chairmanship of the hon. Member for Angus (Sir J. Duncan) to consider certain proposals for improving the accommodation of this House has reported progress.
It recommends that the proposed new accommodation in the roof space over the Committee Rooms upstairs should provide in the main for office accommodation and book storage, including approximately 1,000 sq. ft. for the Fees Office, with residential accommodation limited to a flat suitable for regular residence by the Clerk of the House and two bedrooms with a joint bathroom for the Clerks-Assistant. The Committee will make further recommendations regarding the allocation of the remainder of the roof space estimated to amount to approximately 16,000 sq. ft., and of the present accommodation occupied by the Fees Office in Westminster Hall.
The Minister of Works proposes to start work on the roof space scheme at the beginning of this year's Summer Recess. He expects that, provided the work is not unduly interrupted, the North wing should be ready for occupation after about eighteen months and the balance of the accommodation after a further eighteen months.
The Committee further recommends that the building formerly occupied by St. Stephen's Club, which the Minister of Works has offered to make available for temporary use for a period of about three years before demolition, should be used as follows:
The ground floor to accommodate the Fees Office and the secretaries of seventeen Members who would be allotted individual rooms or shared rooms on the first floor. The accommodation on the fourth and fifth floors to be reserved for any necessary temporary vacation of the present Upper Committee Corridor or other parts of the House of Commons during the work on the roof space scheme.
1136 The Committee is unable to recommend a suitable Parliamentary use for the second and third floors and propose that these should revert to the Minister of Works for Government use. The Minister of Works is drawing up plans for the necessary temporary adaptations and expects the accommodation to be available for use early next year.
A further recommendation of the Committee is that a new lounge and writing room for Members should be provided by erecting screens with a door in each to cut off the South end of the Cloisters on the ground floor. The view of the roof of the Cloisters would be preserved if the tops of the screens were glass.
All these recommendations are, I understand, acceptable to the Minister of Works.
The Committee has also considered what facilities might be offered to the wives, or husbands, of Members. It has proposed that, as an experiment, the Harcourt Room should be open to wives or husbands of Members to wait and take refreshment unaccompanied by a Member.
I am sure that the House will wish me to thank the Chairman and members of the Committee for their labours in the service of the House and for the progress that they have made.
§ The Secretary of State for the Home Department (Mr. R. A. Butler)I am sure that the House would wish to thank the members of the Commitee for the work that they have done, and to thank you, Mr. Speaker, for making your statement.
§ Mr. GaitskellI would also like to thank you, Mr. Speaker, for your statement. I take it that you have accepted the recommendations. We would like particularly to thank the Committee, which has done a very good job of work, and has, if I may say so, fully justified its appointment.
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