§ 43. Mr. Lubbockasked the Lord President of the Council what inquiries he has made about the demand for seats in the public galleries during morning sittings; and if he will now take steps to revise the organisation of the House to ensure that members of the public are not excluded when empty seats are available.
§ Mr. CrossmanDuring morning sittings so far all demands for seats in the galleries from members of the public have been met on almost every day, and the delay in admission has been very short.
§ Mr. LubbockIs the right hon. Gentleman aware that at one time there were 80 people waiting in the queue to get into the galleries in the morning? What steps has he taken so far to implement his promise, made in the procedure debate last week, that there would be an immediate increase in the number of staff employed, so that everyone could be admitted to the galleries?
§ Mr. CrossmanThe hon. Member will find if he looks at HANSARD that I did not make a promise of an immediate increase. I said that it was urgently necessary to have an increase of both Clerks and Doorkeepers. As for the 80 people, it appears that for a few minutes there was a queue, but I am assured by the Serjeant at Arms that these queues have been extremely short. For instance, this morning there was no queue at all.
§ Mr. MurrayWhile recognising the difficulties with staff, may I ask my right hon. Friend to consider the possibility of allowing school children in groups, with their teachers, to come into the galleries and watch the sittings, rather than have wasted space upstairs?
§ Mr. CrossmanI do not think that we should allow schoolchildren in on a tour of the building as though we were a museum. If people come to our galleries, they should come to see the proceedings and listen to them. There is nothing which prevents a school child coming in merely because he is a school child.