§ Mr. Joplingasked the Minister of Public Building and Works if he will list the towns in England and Wales where his offices were shut on New Year's Day; which of them have begun a practice of closing on New Year's Day during the last four years; and which offices had a third day's holiday during Christmas week.
§ Mr. MellishIn common with other civil servants, the staff of my Ministry are entitled to three days' holiday for Christmas. Accordingly, all our offices and depots in England and Wales, about 400 in number, usually close for that period unless there are operational or other special reasons for remaining open. In some places, however, the local custom is to take one of the three days at the New Year or the autumn Bank Holiday instead of Christmas.
Those which closed on New Year's Day in 1969 were;
North Eastern Regional Offices
- Acklington
- Barnard Castle
- Boulmer
- Catterick
- Felling-on-Tyne
- Newcastle
- Stockton
North Western Regional Offices
- Burton wood
- Carlisle (including Broughton Moor and Longtown)
- Eskmeals
- Haydock
- Manchester (the works depot only)
- Patricroft.
Within the last four years, only Burtonwood has changed the date on which it takes the third day's holiday.