THE FOREIGN OFFICE BUILDING (Hansard, 25 March 1964)

§ LORD BOSSOM
My Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question which stands in my name on the Order Paper.

THE MINISTER WITHOUT PORTFOLIO (LORD CAR RINGTON)
My Lords, a scheme to mod[...]rnise the interior of the present Foreign Office was prepared but had to be abandoned because it becomes apparent that after spending at least £2 million we should be left with accommodation which still suffered from many of the defects of the present building, would be unsuitable for a modern Department of State, would be insufficient to house the staff of the Foreign Office and Commonwealth Relations Office who must be in Whitehall, and would not make the best use of this important site.
Complete reconstruction of the interior of the building would be an even more expensive operation, and would not materially increase the space available. It would not be possible to introduce additional floors while retaining the present window arrangement without spoiling the external appearance of the building and condemning staff to work in offices with inadequate natural lighting
To spend millions of pounds on trying to improve the accommodation in the present building, and to spend further millions on accommodating those staff who cannot be housed there would not, in our view, be a justifiable expenditure 1250 of public money. It would result in a far more expensive and far less efficient scheme than replacing the present building. As for the suggestion that the present building might be used to house a smaller Department, and the Foreign Office be housed elsewhere, there is no other building in the Whitehall area—apart from Whitehall Gardens, now fully occupied by Ministry of Defence staff—which is large enough to house the Foreign Office and Commonwealth Relations Office staff who must be in this area.
Her Majesty's Government do not share the implied doubt as to the ability of our present-day architects to produce a building that is both functionally efficient and to a design worthy of this important site.

§ THE MARQUESS OF SALISBURY
My Lords, may I ask the noble Lord whether, when a final decision is being reached, the plans for the new building will be made available to Parliament before the actual decision is taken?

§ LORD CARRINGTON
Yes, my Lords; I am sure that that is so.

§ LORD BOSSOM
My Lords, while thanking my noble friend for that rather comprehensive story, with which I do not quite agree, I would say that I am afraid modern methods of construction do not justify the figures he has quoted. But surely there are methods whereby this can be done. As for getting a part of the staff to go elsewhere, this is, in fact, being done by some of the largest organisations in the world, both in this country and abroad. Why, therefore, cannot we give consideration to this matter so as to save some of our really famous buildings?

§ LORD CARRINGTON
My Lords, there is no doubt whatever that part of the Foreign Office staff could be housed elsewhere, as indeed they are at the moment. But the point is not only that anybody can see that it is very desirable that the whole Foreign Office should be housed together, but that it was one of the recommendations in the Plowden Report. If the noble Earl, Lord Attlee, will read it, I think he will see why. I know that my noble friend Lord Bossom feels very strongly about this and is unconvinced by the arguments which have been produced so far. May I suggest to 1251 him that he comes round, at a time convenient to him, and has a look at the inside of the Foreign Office; and if he is still unconvinced and thinks that it could be altered structurally inside to accommodate the whole of the Foreign Office, he may like to write to my right honourable friend the Minister of Public Building and Works, and perhaps see one of the architects concerned.

§ LORD SILKIN
My Lords, is the noble Lord aware that some time ago I put forward a suggestion that there should be a White Paper on this subject, so that Parliament should be fully informed as to the position? We are not fully informed; we do not know what the cost of alternative schemes would be. The noble Lord has explained what will be cost of carrying out the noble Lord's suggestion, but we do not know what would be the cost of alternative schemes. If we could have all this information before the Government are finally committed—the cost of carrying out the alternative which the Government have in mind as against the cost of the proposal which the noble Lord, Lord Bossom, is putting forward—we should be in a better position to make up our minds.

§ LORD CARRINGTON
My Lords, I confess that I did not know that the noble Lord, Lord Silkin, had made that suggestion, but I should like to consider it, if I may.

§ LORD SILKIN
I had been promised that it would be considered, but I had not heard the result of the consideration.

§ LORD CARRINGTON
I am afraid that, as the noble Lord knows, I am only a "stand-in" in this matter, and I did not know that.

§ LORD BOSSOM
May I accept my noble friend's invitation after Easter? We can then get together. I am certainly only too anxious to be as helpful as I can be. Thank you very much.

§ LORD CARRINGTON
I can assure my noble friend that the Foreign Office will not be pulled down before Easter.

§ THE EARL OF ALBEMARLE
My Lords, is the noble Lord not aware that many people who have it in mind that the real façade should be retained are of the opinion that the Ministry are circumscribed in the information that they can obtain from other experts, architects and engineers? And is he not aware that many people who have this matter very much at heart think that the Government are limiting themselves in the receipt of alternative information which would make them believe that what they think is now impossible is in fact possible?

§ LORD CARRINGTON
My Lords, I really do not think that that is so, but I hope my noble friend will feel that the inspection by my noble friend Lord Bossom will meet at any rate some of his objections.

§ LORD ALPORT
My Lords, may I ask my noble friend whether it is intended to retain in the new design, if it takes place, the Indian Council Chamber, which is one of the few features in London which has a direct association with the long period of government by this country of India, and which in itself is a very beautiful room which has historic associations?

§ LORD CARRINGTON
My Lords, I am afraid I do not know that, because, of course, there is no new design, but I am quite sure that those concerned will take note of what my noble friend has said.

LORD REA
My Lords, is it not the fact that there are plans afoot for reconstructing the South-East corner of Whitehall—that is, roughly, I think, from Richmond Terrace to Bridge Street, and along Bridge Street? Could the noble Lord say whether there is any intention to build more Government offices there, or what are the plans?

§ LORD CARRINGTON
I think that is rather a different question, but I believe the intention is that there should be more accommodation for the House of Commons, and another Government building which should be occupied by the Home Office.