Sir Philip Sassoon: My Department is always prepared to co-operate in air-raid precautions schemes in joint hirings, provided that it is satisfied with the structural security proposed, but the scheme suggested by the Gresham House Air-Raid Precautions Committee did not fulfil that proviso. A further alternative proposal is being made to the committee.
Sir Philip Sassoon: We said that we could not co-operate on the scheme of strutting, and we have now put forward an alternative.
Sir Philip Sassoon: I would refer to the answer which I gave to the hon. and gallant Member for Abingdon (Sir R. Glyn) on 26th July, 1937, in which I stated that His Majesty's Government had decided that their contribution to the memorial should take the form, not of a cash grant, but of a free gift of all the State property within the area at Abingdon Street selected by the Lord Mayor's Committee, and added...
Sir Philip Sassoon: In order that the requisite preparations, and adequate heating arrangements, may be made, it will be necessary to close Westminster Hall to the public from Monday, 20th March, until Friday, 24th March, inclusive, but it will not be closed to hon. Members and others having business in the adjoining offices. Hon. Members are, however, asked kindly to refrain from introducing friends or...
Sir Philip Sassoon: I hope that it will be sufficiently raised by that time to provide comfort not only for the Frenchmen but for hon. Members.
Sir Philip Sassoon: I am trying in three weeks to counteract the chill of nine centuries.
Sir Philip Sassoon: I am sorry that hon. Members should feel that I did not give as full an explanation as possible to the Committee last night, but there is little that I can add to what I said yesterday. It is in large measure a question of opinion whether values are constant or not. I am afraid that values are not constant, and I think very few Members will feel that a great Embassy built in 1873, at a time...
Sir Philip Sassoon: It was £39,000, which included the site and the furniture. I may as well answer now the hon. Member's question about the furniture by saying that it has all been brought away from the house and was not included in the sale. Many people in England and in London have houses which they would be very glad to realise for considerably less than they paid originally. We were faced with the...
Sir Philip Sassoon: It was in July last.
Sir Philip Sassoon: Certainly.
Sir Philip Sassoon: It is well known that private individuals in Germany and Austria cannot take money out of the country.
Sir Philip Sassoon: No, not yet.
Sir Philip Sassoon: I am aware of the conditions to which my hon. and gallant Friend refers, but the difficulties in the way of providing suitable alternative accommodation are considerable. No decision has been taken as regards purchasing the neighbouring house.
Sir Philip Sassoon: We are fully aware of the fact that the conditions are not satisfactory, and I hope we shall get over the difficulty soon.
Sir Philip Sassoon: This Vote is sufficiently familiar to the Committee, I think, to require very little explanation from me. Provision is sought in the Estimate to meet the cost of the forthcoming reception of the French President in Westminster Hall. It covers the cost of the necessary heating alterations and other incidental expenses. Of the sum for maintenance and repairs, £1,000 is in respect of air-raid...
Sir Philip Sassoon: This Vote is concerned with the salaries of the staff of my Department and various expenses connected with the work and administration. I am directly responsible for carrying out the work which is detailed for the most part in Votes 1 to 11 in class VII of the Civil Estimates, and the staffs and other costs incurred in so doing are charged on this Vote. In addition, however, I carry out...
Sir Philip Sassoon: I am not allowed to get more than will cover my deficiency. If I get more it goes back to the Exchequer.
Sir Philip Sassoon: I think that this amount is the result of the fact that we have had a speeding up of work on these factories. We have had to do more work than we originally estimated we would have to do. That is why the salaries for which we are asking is larger.
Sir Philip Sassoon: This is a large and somewhat miscellaneous Vote covering all services of Government Departments which are not accounted for under other Works Votes. The largest item, £486,075, is in respect of new works, alterations, etc. Of this sum, £150,000 is for air-raid precautions for Government buildings under this Vote, and it covers the provision of refuge accommodation for official staffs. The...
Sir Philip Sassoon: In answer to the question of the hon. Member for South Shields (Mr. Ede) regarding storage accommodation and whether we are buying the sites, I have to say that only in one case have we had to buy a site and that was because the concern upon whose land the storage is being effected had not sufficient land for what we need. The other sites have been let to us upon purely nominal leases. We are...
