§ Mr. Sydney Chapmanasked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will seek powers to make the Property Services Agency a public corporation, charged with the rôle of managing the State's interests in property and as a client of the construction industry, separate from the Department of the Environment.
§ Mr. RipponI am satisfied that the present arrangements under which the agency forms part of my Department are working well. As my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister indicated in reply to a Question from my hon. Friend the Members for Devizes (Mr. Charles Morrison) on 5th May 1972—[Vol. 836, c.217–18.]—these arrangements are designed to ensure that the Government's practice as a builder and developer remains in accord with their policies for conserving and improving the environment.