§ 36. Mr. Dalyellasked the Minister for the Civil Service what plans he has for a Civil Service residential college in Scotland or the north of England.
§ Mrs. HartThe Civil Service College is likely to need a residential centre close to London, and for this we intend to use the former Civil Defence College premises at Sunningdale, and another centre which can be in some other part of Britain. We are not yet near a point of decision about its siting.
§ Mr. DalyellAlthough in the view of many of us what the Fulton Committee said about civil servants' lack of knowledge of areas outside London was too glib by half, will my right hon. Friend nevertheless recognise that there is a strong case for a Civil Service College either in the North of England or in Scotland?
§ Mrs. HartThe factors which will govern our decision on this college will be, first, that it will have to have premises which are suitable; secondly, that we shall want the premises to be near either a university or a large technical college and, thirdly, that we shall want our decision to be totally in line with our overall and very successful policy for dispersal.
§ Mrs. EwingWill the right hon. Lady consider going in for advanced planning, and consider her other function, as Minister for devolution, and then go for a college sited near a Parliament, namely, one in Scotland?
§ Mrs. HartI was wondering how the hon. Lady would resolve her conflict on this question. It would be an advantage to Scotland or to any other part of Britain far from London if we were able to site this part of the college somewhere else.