§ Mr. Andersonasked the Minister of Public Building and Works what is the scale and nature of Government assistance to the preservation of United Kingdom industrial archaeology.
§ Mr. MellishI schedule suitable industrial structures as ancient monuments and in appropriate cases offer grants for their repair or even take them into my care. I also give advice on treatment and am subsidising a nation-wide survey of industrial monuments.
My right hon. Friend the Minister of Housing and Local Government also promotes the protection and preservation of industrial structures of special historic and architectural interest by listing them under the Town and Country Planning Acts and by offering grants in appropriate cases. Further assistance is channelled through museums, part of whose functions may be to preserve movable features of industrial archaeology.
No distinction is made between industrial subjects and the more traditional ones, and a detailed breakdown of figures between the two is not available.