§ Mr. Arthur Lewisasked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he will make a statement on his communication to the Birmingham City Council that the Government are now considering switching the industrial exhibition site from Birmingham to London.
§ Mr. NobleI informed representatives of the Birmingham City Council on 29th June that the Government, having regard to the country's pressing need for a modern international exhibition centre, had decided that the project should go rapidly ahead and had agreed in principle that the Birmingham Corporation should be authorised to provide such loan finance as could not be raised from the private sector. The Birmingham Corporation would accordingly be given the authority which it would need to increase its borrowing for this purpose. The immediate availability of a further £145,000 of the Government grant which had already been announced would ensure that progress on the project was fully maintained.