§ Q3. Mr. Tilneyasked the Prime Minister whether he will consider advising Her Majesty The Queen that State visits should start on a Sunday afternoon and not in the middle of a working week in London.
§ The Prime MinisterEvery effort is made when arranging State visits to keep the inevitable disruption of traffic to the minimum. It is not always possible to alter the timetable as suggested, frequently because of the commitments of the visiting Head of State concerned.
§ Mr. TilneyWill the Prime Minister bear in mind that a few years ago the Lord Mayor's Show was moved to a weekend to make it easier for the City of London to get on with its work? Will he also bear in mind that the bulk of the population in London work outside the Whitehall area and would enjoy the pomp and pageantry of a State visit?
§ The Prime MinisterThose points will certainly be borne in mind. It was the precedent of the Lord Mayor's Show which led us to consider how far it was possible to move to more convenient times, but we have to think of the timetable of visiting Heads of State.