§ Mr. MorganTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what study he has made of the costs and benefits of moving substantial elements of his and other Departments' operations to docklands; and if he will publish details of its findings.
§ Mr. Howard[holding answer 22 May 1992]: Following the decision announced on 6 February to demolish the headquarters building of my Department at 2 Marsham Street, my predecessor asked officials to draw up proposals for moving a substantial number of this Department's HQ posts away from central Westminster to another London location. In particular, he said that he was considering establishing a substantial departmental presence in docklands. An analysis of the properties available and the overall market position indicates that in terms of cost, quality and suitability docklands currently offers the best option. Further work is in hand.
I have made no analysis of any relocation proposals of other Departments.