§ 26. Mr. Bellengerasked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Works and Planning whether the limitation of £100 placed upon repairs to buildings in any one year applies to Government and municipal offices, theatres, hotels and premises requisitioned for Government purposes?
§ The Joint Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Works and Planning (Mr. Hicks)The obligation to obtain a licence for repairs to a property exceeding £100 in any one year applies to theatres and hotels. It does not apply to Government offices or to premises requisitioned by the Government, if the work is carried out or paid for by a Government Department, nor to municipal offices, if the work is required for the purpose of enabling the local authority to discharge any of its statutory functions.
§ Mr. BellengerIs the Minister aware that considerable repairs over the £100 limit are being carried out to hotels, theatres and similar places, and in view of the urgent need for housing accommodation in London and other big cities, will he consider some alteration of the regulation to permit more than £100 to be spent on blocks of flats so as to put them in order to house the population?
§ Mr. HicksMy hon. Friend will remember the offer I made to him in reply to a similar Question last week, when I 1906 said it was competent to apply for a licence over £100. Each application is examined, whether it is for a hotel, a theatre or a block of flats.
§ Mr. BellengerIs the hon. Gentleman aware that there are considerable difficulty and delay in getting these licences for flats because of the regulation concerning £100, as blocks of flats have a very large Schedule A assessment, and will he consider altering the regulation so that it applies to the rating valuation?