§ 28. Mr. Sainsburyasked the Lord President of the Council if he will initiate an inquiry into any difficulties that hon. Members and their secretaries experience due to the provision of accommodation and facilities in offices outside the main buildings of the Palace of Westminster.
§ 33. Mr. Hooleyasked the Lord President of the Council what is his present estimate of the unfilled need for office accommodation by hon. Members, excluding Ministers, in or near the Palace of Westminster.
§ The Lord President of the Council and Leader or the House of Commons (Mr. John Biffen)I am aware of the pressure on accommodation, although this cannot be measured absolutely in view of the differing wishes of Members. I should be happy to refer to the Accommodation and Administration Sub-Committee any particular problems within the Committee's remit that arise from the occupation of accommodation outside the main Palace buildings.
§ Mr. SainsburyDoes my right hon. Friend agree that, as more than 40 per cent. of hon. Members and more than 80 per cent. of their secretaries are now provided with desk space—I can scarcely call it accommodation—in five buildings outside the Palace of Westminster, this inevitably means a great deal of time being wasted through people and paper moving around and difficulties in receiving messages and visitors? How much longer does he expect hon. Members to put up with that?
§ Mr. BiffenAs a later question deals with the possible extension of accommodation, it might be more appropriate if I addressed myself to that when it arises.
§ Mr. HooleyIs the Lord President aware that in the current Estimates only £700 is allocated to convert a room in a hut on the roof of the Palace of Westminster into an office? Does he regard that as an adequate response to the undoubted need for decent accommodation for Members of Parliament and their staff?
§ Mr. BiffenI shall of course refer the hon. Gentleman's anxieties to the Accommodation and Administration Sub-Committee, but I must point out that there is a limit to what can be made of the resources now available and that any extension of those resources that might arise under question 29 is a matter for substantial decision involving considerable public expenditure.
§ Mr. StanbrookWill my right hon. Friend remind our hon. Friend the Member for Hove (Mr. Sainsbury) and others who think like him that the main work of the House of Commons is carried out in this Chamber and that anything that takes hon. Members away from this place into offices and forces them to spend an excessive amount of time on paperwork is a weakening of parliamentary democracy?
§ Mr. EnglishDoes that include the Cabinet?
§ Mr. BiffenI shall reply in the most dull, downbeat fashion. I do not believe that there is any correlation between effectiveness in the Chamber and the amount of accommodation that an hon. Member has.
§ Mr. Campbell-SavoursWhy should Members' secretaries have precedence over Members in the allocation of accommodation within the immediate precincts of the Chamber?
§ Mr. BiffenI am not sure that that strictly arises from the answer that I have given, but I shall certainly put that point to the Accommodation and Administration Sub-Committee.
§ Mr. RentonIs my right hon. Friend aware—I am sure he is—that, with all respect to my hon. Friend the Member 741 for Orpington (Mr. Stanbrook), it is not possible in the Chamber to answer letters from one's constituents? Does he agree that most hon. Members and their secretaries work in conditions that would not be tolerated in the private sector, let alone in the great Ministries of Whitehall? Has my right hon. Friend any suggestions as to how to deal with that position without great expense to public funds?
§ Mr. BiffenI do not think that my hon. Friend the Member for Orpington (Mr. Stanbrook) had in mind the point that my hon. Friend the Member for Mid-Sussex (Mr. Renton) seeks to make. However, I do not intend to arbitrate between them. The issue touches upon question 29 and perhaps I can reserve judgment until we reach that question.