§ Mr. TOUCHEasked the Homo Secretary if his approval has been given to the proposal of the London County Council to build a new Quarter Session House for the county of London on the site of the Newington Sessions House at a cost of about £100,000; has he taken into consideration the desirability of a central position if all the business is to be transacted in one building; that the great majority of cases tried at the London Sessions are committed from the north side of the Thames, and by far the greater number of witnesses and others, including members of the bar and the police, when business calls them to the Sessions will have to travel a considerable distance and cross the river in order to reach the Court; that a Departmental Committee reported that the Newington site was distinctly inferior to the central district as regards convenience; and that the London County Council Committee, on whose report the Newington site was adopted, did not pursue inquiries with respect to alternative sites; and has he considered the 1952W undesirability of expending a large sum of public money on a site which has been regarded with disfavour by justices and the public alike?
§ Mr. McKENNAThis is a matter for the local authority to decide. No doubt there is much to be said on both sides of the question, and the considerations urged by the hon. Member must, with others, have been fully taken into account by the London County Council before they came to a decision.