HC Deb 04 December 1974 vol 882 cc1550-1
26. Mr. Lipton

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what progress is being made with the surfacing of New Palace Yard.

Mr. Kaufman

The preparation and planting of the central area are in hand and should be completed by the end of April. The remaining work, laying granite setts in the roadway and facing the retaining wall with slate, is due to begin in March.

Mr. Lipton

Is my hon. Friend aware that it looks as though someone is trying to set up a fish-breeding farm or salt pans in New Palace Yard? When are we to see the end of this monstrous waste of public money?

Mr. Kaufman

My hon. Friend reminds me of what the Pope said to Michelangelo when he was painting the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. Fortunately, the outcome of that exercise was at least aesthetically more pleasing than what we have at the moment in New Palace Yard. I concur in my hon. Friend's view that the present situation in New Palace Yard is part of the unacceptable face of accepting House of Commons decisions carried through late at night on the nod—decisions which ought to have been thought about more deeply.

Mr. Pardoe

Will the granite mentioned by the hon. Gentleman be imported or home-produced? If it is to be imported, what will be the cost to the balance of payments? If Hanter Gantick granite from Cornwall can be used in the construction of London Bridge, why cannot it be used in the construction of New Palace Yard?

Mr. Kaufman

One reason why the cost of this white elephant has escalated to the extent that it has is the pressure by hon. Gentlemen to use costly materials from their constituencies in its construction. I have caused new investigations to be made into this matter. We are seeking to get the best possible granite for the lowest possible cost, whatever its origin. There is a possibility—no more than that —that we may import the granite from Portugal, which is now an acceptable place from which to buy things.

Mr. Dalyell

What on earth did the Pope say to Michelangelo?

Mr. Kaufman

I refer my hon. Friend to the screen play, "The Agony and the Ecstasy", pointing out that that was in English whereas the Pope presumably said it in Latin.

Mr. Robert Cooke

Will the hon. Gentleman confirm that even Michelangelo started with a mess, but got the right results in the end? Will the hon. Gentleman be serious and confirm that the landscaping scheme was agreed to by this House after a lengthy debate in which many of his hon. Friends took part, and that it embodies every suggestion made, except for the two tennis courts?

Mr. Kaufman

I accept that we are carrying out the will of the House. I hope that when hon. Gentlemen opposite criticise the expenditure they will accept that it was the clear will of the House, carried out with the concurrence of the hon. Gentleman.