§ 2. Mr. Simon HughesTo ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage if he will make a statement about the future location of his Department.
§ Mr. MellorI shall make an announcement in due course.
§ Mr. HughesI add my congratulations to the Secretary of State and the Under-Secretary. There could rarely be two people who are more qualified to take on the job. I envy them it myself: I cannot think of a better job to do in government.
§ Mr. Tony BanksThe hon. Gentleman will never get the chance.
§ Mr. HughesThe chance may come.
When the Secretary of State evaluates the options for the location of his Department, will he consider seriously the office space in Rose court above the Rose theatre in Bankside on the south bank? The space is vacant and has been vacant since the Rose theatre was built. It is cheap and it would be much nearer than Canary Wharf. There could be no better location for the Department of National Heritage than Bankside, at the centre of Elizabethan greatness in England. Will the right hon. and learned Gentleman give that idea serious consideration?
§ Mr. MellorI am grateful for what the hon. Gentleman said. If he will kindly supply me with a list of all properties available in his constituency, I shall peruse it.
§ Mr. BowisMay I suggest to my right hon. and learned Friend that the location of his Department should be in something more mobile—perhaps a mobile home—so that he can spend quite a lot of his time touring the country and ensuring that central to his plans for the arts and heritage are the many centres of excellence in the regions, not least the region of London? Away from the west end, there are many superb ventures to support the arts, from the Hackney Empire to the Battersea arts centre.
§ Mr. MellorI am glad that the Battersea arts centre came into the question. I will certainly bear in mind what my hon. Friend says. I must, however, disappoint the hon. Member for Holborn and St. Pancras (Mr. Dobson)— who, sadly, is not in his place—who suggested that wherever the new Department was, it should be called Stan Flashman house. I reject that suggestion.
§ Mr. BoyesWherever the Secretary of State locates his new office, will he recognise the importance of photography—
§ Madam SpeakerOrder. May we get the location of photography correct? The hon. Gentleman's question would then be in order. The question concerns the Department's location.
§ Mr. BoyesWherever the Secretary of State locates his offices, I hope that he will recognise the importance of photography, particularly by buying pictures from young photographers—the men and women who will be the photographers of the future. Will he bear that in mind?
§ Mr. MellorI will certainly do that. It was very generous of the hon. Gentleman to exclude himself by asking only about young photographers.