§ Mr. Stanleyasked the Secretary of State for the Environment what was the total area of office space occupied by the Department of Trade in March 1974; how much extra office accommodation has been used by this Department since March 1974, including offices for agencies for which this Department is responsible; and what has been the cost of such extra accommodation to the Exchequer.
§ Mr. ArmstrongThere is still some sharing of accommodation by the Departments of Trade, Industry and Energy and separate records are not yet available in every case. Our best estimates are, however, as follows. The total area of office space occupied by the Department of Trade and its agencies in March 1974 was 1,344,000 sq. ft. About 30,500 sq. ft. extra has been used since then at an additional cost in rents of £33,000 per annum.