HL Deb 12 July 1966 vol 276 cc69-70

2.45 p.m.

LORD AMULREE

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

[The Question was as follows:

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will now make arrangements for the cleaning of William Kent's building on the Horse Guards Parade.]

LORD HILTON OF UPTON

My Lords, the cleaning of the Whitehall front of the Horse Guards building is under consideration, but it is not proposed at present to undertake the cleaning of the Horse Guards Parade side of this building or of Kent's Treasury.

LORD AMULREE

My Lords, I should like to thank the noble Lord for his reply. Can he tell me whether the cleaning is not being proceeded with on the Horse Guards side because of difficulty of finding some method of cleaning it or because of the expense?

LORD HILTON OF UPTON

My Lords, it is neither, really. There are ways of dealing with it. It is not altogether a question of expense, but this would count very considerably because past experience has proved that it is an expensive operation. But it is intended to do this job gradually, beginning on the Whitehall side rather than the other side of the building. Already one or two buildings have been cleaned and consideration is being given to cleaning others as circumstances permit.

LORD AMULREE

My Lords, I should like to thank the noble Lord for that reply.

LORD BOWDEN

My Lords, is it not possible to speed up this process a little? We have for years been talking about cleaning London. Whitehall is beyond doubt squalid and filthy. I myself spent an unsuccessful year struggling to get part of it clean, and I think that the time has come to take a firm grip of the matter and clean the place up, lest it become a shabby poor relation of Paris which General de Gaulle cleaned so splendidly ten years ago.

LORD HILTON OF UPTON

My Lords, as I have already pointed out to the noble Lord, this operation of cleaning may be desirable but is not absolutely essential, and I repeat that consideration is now being given to the priority of other buildings to be cleaned.