§ 12. Sir R. Russellasked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will replace in the Members' Dining Room the remainder of the portraits of distinguished parliamentarians which used to hang there before it was redecorated.
§ The Under-Secretary of State for the Environment (Mr. Reginald Eyre)On the recommendation of the Advisory Committee on Works of Arts, portraits for this room are being cleaned and reframed in my Department's studio. The portraits of Palmerston and Pitt the Younger are already back in place; and those of Walpole, Onslow, Speaker Turner and Hansard will be in a week or so. The others will be returned as soon as they are ready.
§ Sir R. RussellI thank my hon. Friend for that answer. Does he agree that the walls facing the window and at each end of the room look very bare at the moment, particularly for visitors who use the room at weekends?
§ Mr. EyreThat is something which the advisory committee under the chairmanship of my hon. Friend the Member for Ealing, South (Mr. Batsford) will certainly consider.
§ Mr. SkinnerWill the Minister tell us what has happened to the Duke of Devonshire?
§ Mr. EyreI do not think that he ever appeared in this dining room, but if the hon. Member would like to have a self-portrait painted I am sure that that would be considered.