§ LORD O'NEILL OF THE MAINEMy 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 consider cleaning the exterior of the Palace of Westminster, in view of the experiments which they have already carried out.
§ LORD MOWBRAY AND STOURTONMy Lords, we now have a successful method of cleaning the Palace, and my right honourable friend the Secretary of State for the Environment hopes shortly to submit firm proposals to the appropriate authorities of the two Houses.
§ LORD O'NEILL OF THE MAINEMy Lords, is the noble Lord aware how pleased many Members of this noble House will be with the reply he has given? Might I suggest that, if it is found that the cost is excessive, possibly the courtyards could be left to a later date, so long as work on the facade, which is a great tourist attraction, could be carried out reasonably soon? I feel sure that both noble Lords and the officials of the House would be willing to put up with the inconvenience which I am sure will be caused by having windows covered and things of that kind.
§ LORD MOWBRAY AND STOURTONMy Lords, the question of whether the internal courts should be cleaned as well as the outside walls is, of course, one of the things included in the feasibility study which will be put before the appropriate authorities. It is appreciated that there will be a certain amount of inconvenience and discomfort—my noble and learned friend the Lord Chancellor no doubt experienced a little trouble last summer. But I am assured by the authorities that when the cleaning is done no one window will need to be covered for more than two weeks at the most.
§ LORD SLATERMy Lords, the Question refers to the cleaning of the exterior of the Palace, but would the noble Lord not agree that it would be more to the 357 advantage of your Lordships, as part of Parliament, if better accommodation were to be provided for noble Lords who attend this Assembly on the occasions when they are called and wish to do so?
§ LORD MOWBRAY AND STOURTONMy Lords, better accommodation is something which I think we all aspire to and hope to get for noble Lords and Members of another place. But I think the aesthetic beauty of the buildings of our capital city—and this the Mother of Parliaments—is also an important matter.
§ LORD SEGALMy Lords, may I ask the noble Lord whether the Government are aware that King Richard Cæur de Lion's sword, at the main entrance to your Lordships' House, is tarnished, and will they seek to restore it to its former shining glory?
§ LORD MOWBRAY AND STOURTONMy Lords, if King Richard Cæur de Lion's batman is not available to do the job, no doubt my right honourable friend the Secretary of State for the Environment will look at it.
§ LORD GLADWYNMy Lords, would the noble Lord agree that it is much more urgent to get on with the cleaning of Westminster Abbey than of the Houses of Parliament?
§ LORD MOWBRAY AND STOURTONMy Lords, I think the noble Lord, Lord Gladwyn, knows that church buildings come under a different authority.
§ LORD BURNTWOODMy Lords, is the noble Lord aware that King Richard Cæur de Lion's sword is not tarnished in the accepted sense of the word—it is bent by bomb blast?
§ LORD MOWBRAY AND STOURTONMy Lords, he was a doughty warrier.
§ LORD FOOTMy Lords, could the noble Lord give any indication as to when Oliver Cromwell is going to be uncovered again?
§ LORD MOWBRAY AND STOURTONMy Lords, I should like to enter into this conversazione, but I think we are getting a little wide of the Question.
§ THE LORD BISHOP OF SOUTHWARKMy Lords, does the noble Lord realise that there are Members on this Bench 358 who hope that Oliver Cromwell will never be uncovered?