§ Mr. Lathamasked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will make a statement on the air conditioning system of the Public Record Office at Kew, and the work so far undertaken by the Property Services Agency; what has been the total cost to public funds of rectification of the difficulties over the last five years; and what attempt is being made to identify the persons or firms responsible and recover the expenditure from them.
§ Mr. ChopeAn independent review of the building, its plant and services, was commissioned by the PSA in 1984. This has revealed no major faults in the building or its services. A number of improvements were recommended to enhance the working environment overall and better to safeguard the stored records, including a new computer control and monitoring system, new lighting, new steam humidifiers, and overhaul of the air distribution system and new duct work on the repository floor. Work on these improvements is now virtually complete at a cost of £750,000. Of this, £205,000 is directly attributable to the air conditioning system. Over the past five years a total of £1,186,000 has been spent on air conditioning, including £800,000 on routine and regular maintenance.
The independent review has confirmed that the original designs of the air conditioning system were fully in accordance with the standards which applied at the time. In the light of that review there is no case for claiming recovery of the subsequent costs incurred.