Major BARNESasked the President of the Board of Education if the acquisition of the Bloomsbury site was suggested to the Government by anyone authorised to speak for the University of London; if the Government is committed to the purchase of this site; if so, what is the purchase price, the available building area, the dates upon which the purchase will be completed and possession of the site given, and to what use it will be put should it not be accepted by the University; whether the Government are willing to assist the concentration of the University on a suitable site, or only upon this particular site; and, if the former, whether they will give consideration to a request for assistance by the University if it should come to the conclusion that concentration is desirable, but that some other site would be more suitable?
§ Mr. FISHERThe Government decided that the Bloomsbury site was undoubtedly the best for the purpose, after careful consideration of alternative sites and of the views expressed by the public bodies concerned, including, of course, the University itself. As stated by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer638W on the 10th instant, the Government are not prepared to ask the general taxpayer for the extraordinary contribution involved except in respect of the unique opportunities afforded by the Bloomsbury site. The Government is not committed to the purchase of the site, and I am not in a position to make any statement as to the purchase price proposed to be paid. In regard to the area and date of possession, I would refer the hon. and gallant Member to the answers I gave in the House on 1st June and 7th June last.