§ THE EARL OF ALBEMARLEMy 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 are considering bringing into a unified volunteer Reserve all the branches of the national voluntary effort, whose members could benefit by the availability for occupation of the remaining drill halls not yet disposed of; and, if so, whether this process of disposal can be temporarily held up, pending emergence of a settled policy.]
§ LORD CHALFONTMy Lords, Her Majesty's Government have no plans for creating a unified voluntary reserve on the lines suggested; and the disposal of drill halls will continue.
§ THE EARL OF ALBEMARLEMy Lords, while not cordially thanking the noble Lord for that Answer, may I ask him, in the fewest possible number of words, two supplementary questions? Is it not the fact that there is to be no organised manpower behind the Army, even in support of the civil power against imponderable emergencies? Therefore, would the Ministry not agree on the advisability of maintaining the pattern overall of drill halls and of delaying disposal? In 1967 there were 1,250 drill halls. The future of 224 has been settled and 400 are still at disposal. It is a question of "Going, going, gone." Of the others—and this is what I deplore—certain will be good "buys", because, after all, what is the future, what is the 1047 lookout, for an ordinary drill hall? They will be good buys for people who want to make money. Once they have been bought, we do not know what the years to come will ask for and give us. Therefore, it is bad thing to let them go now. Also, in places of scattered population do we not want gathering places?—that is, places where young, eager men can go on their motor bicycles and get together and learn comradeship, loyalty and all the other things that drill halls have produced.
§ LORD CHALFONTMy Lords, I think I might comment with the greatest friendliness, that that speech is almost as long as the one I made on the same subject when we debated this subject in your Lordships' House recently. The answers to the noble Lord's questions are these: there is, in our view, no foreseeable requirement for these drill halls, and where no Government Department or no local authority wishes to buy them, they are then placed on the open market for sale. That seems to me to be a logical and reasonable thing to do. I cannot believe that the noble Earl objects strongly to the fact that in buying one of these drill halls someone may get a bargain. The drill halls are being disposed of because we do not think we shall ever want them again and they cost money to maintain. If we kept them, they would have to have a caretaker, and there would be justifiable criticism in the country at their being kept at public expense and no use being made of them at all. I regret to say that we cannot foresee any use for these. We are therefore disposing of them in the most reasonable and economic way.
§ LORD OGMOREMy Lords, arising out of the answers to the last two questions and in view of the fact that many of us are very worried about the effect of the Government's decisions on our Reserve Forces and our Regular Forces, may I ask whether it is proposed by the Government to have a debate on the recent White Paper on Defence before we adjourn for the Summer Recess?
§ LORD CHALFONTMy Lords, that is a matter which will have to be dealt with through the usual channels. I could not presume to answer that question myself, but I take note of what the noble Lord has said.