§ Sir W. de FRECEasked the President of the Board of Trade whether it is intended that any of his staff shall be accommodated in the room in the basement of the offices of his Department, which is over 20 feet below street level; and whether he will provide alternative accommodation to obviate the necessity of this step?
§ Sir P. CUNLIFFE-LISTERIn the interests of the efficient and economical administration of my Department, consideration is being given to the possibility of bringing together into the Head-1616W quarters building, certain Headquarters offices at present housed elsewhere. In this connection the use of the basement courts for staff is under consideration, but no decision has been leached. I would point out that while the floors of these courts are 16½ feet below pavement level, they are lit by natural light through glass roofs and are adequately heated and ventilated. Similar basement courts are used for staff accommodation by each of the other three Government Departments in the same bidding.