§ THE EARL OR HALIFAXMy Lords, I beg to ask the question standing in my name on the Order Paper.
§ [The question was as follows:
§ To ask His Majesty's Government whether there is any truth in the report that has recently appeared in the Press, following upon the unveiling of the statue of King George V in Old Palace Yard, that it is proposed to remove Nos. 5 and 7 Old Palace Yard, as part of a plan for the rebuilding and re-development of Abingdon Street, Westminster.]
§ LORD HENDERSONMy Lords, No. 5, Old Palace Yard will eventually be demolished for the King George V Memorial in accordance with the scheme for the Memorial approved by both Houses of Parliament in 1939, but Nos. 6 and 7 will be retained. The demolition is in accordance with the suggestion of the Royal Fine Art Commission made in 1937 in order to disengage the faç ade of Nos. 6 and 7 and to give the Memorial a symmetrical setting. Following the recommendations of the Joint Select Committee on Accommodation, 1945, it is proposed eventually to erect a building for members and officials of both Houses of Parliament on the Abingdon Street site which has recently been acquired with money voted for that purpose. The demolition of 5, Old Palace Yard has no connexion with this scheme.