§ 38. Mr. David Jamesasked the Lord President of the Council if he will consider the establishment of a bookshop within the precincts of the Palace of Westminster.
§ Mr. WhitelawA proposal is, at present, before the Services Committee for the establishment of a stall for the sale of Bills and other parliamentary papers to visitors to the Strangers' Gallery.
414 If my hon. Friend has a more general bookshop in mind, I am sure the Committee will have noted his suggestion.
§ Mr. David JamesI am grateful to my right hon. Friend for knowing more about this Question than he did about the previous one that I addressed to him. Will he bear in mind that with more than 2,000 people living and working in this building who will have increasingly little opportunity to get outside, a bookshop is almost certainly as civilised an adjunct to living as a barbers' shop or a branch of Thomas Cook? Will my right hon. Friend recommend this favourably?
§ Mr. WhitelawWithout wishing to be drawn into the various comparisons or the merits of what my hon. Friend says, I am sure that the Services Committee in its considerations will take careful note of what my hon. Friend has said.