§ 3. Mr. Blakerasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what improvements in working conditions for Foreign and Commonwealth Office staff based in London have taken place in the last four months.
§ Sir Alec Douglas-HomeSome improvements have been made which are designed to make conditions more comfortable for the staff pending a decision on the reconstruction or rebuilding of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
§ Mr. BlakerWhile I am grateful to my right hon. Friend for the improvement he has mentioned, may I ask him whether he will recall telling me in December that he was not satisfied with the working conditions of his Department and confirming that the Department is housed in no fewer than 13 different buildings? Has there been any progress particularly in reducing the number of buildings?
§ Sir Alec Douglas-HomeI hope that my hon. Friend will know that I am immensely interested in this subject. My interest is to see that the Foreign and Commonwealth Office is housed so that the work of diplomacy can be carried on efficiently. It is not possible to do this now as efficiently as I would like, so I would like to get on with the improvements.