HC Deb 20 June 1966 vol 730 c8
8. Mr. Whitaker

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works what plans he has for cleaning of public buildings in London and elsewhere in Great Britain, in view of the recent cleaning done in Paris.

Mr. Boyden

My right hon. Friend is interested in a new method of cleaning which was recently tried at the Custom House and at Admiralty House. The results appear to offer some improvement over traditional methods and are being considered.

Mr. Whitaker

I thank my hon. Friend for that reply. In view of the magnificent success of the cleaning of St. Paul's, will he institute the cleaning of at least Whitehall and Trafalgar Square without further delay and, preferably, start an imaginative and far-reaching plan for the whole city, as has been done in Paris, whose cost would be repaid by tourists?

Mr. Boyden

Paris has been at it for rather a long time and London dirt appears to be heavier than Paris dirt. I am fully in sympathy with the general idea, but we shall have to look at the question of cost.

Mr. Robert Cooke

Will the hon. Gentleman think of cleaning the Foreign Office before he demolishes it?

Sir Knox Cunningham

What will be the cost of cleaning Whitehall and the Houses of Parliament?

Mr. Boyden

I cannot answer that without notice.