§ MR. CLAUDE HAY (Shoreditch, Holton)To ask the President of the Local Government Board, whether he can now state what progress has been made during the last three months to concentrate, in accordance with the Housing Act of 1903, the administration of the Housing Acts in the Local Government Board; and whether the administration of those Acts is still distributed between various Departments; and, if so, will he explain why no steps have been taken to carry out the transfer, which he has stated he is willing should be made.
(Answered by Mr. Walter Long.) A portion of the administration of the Housing of the Working Classes Acts is vested in the Secretary of Stat, and has not at present been transferred to the Local Government Board. As I have previously stated, I am quite willing that the transfer should be made, but it has been desired that there should be some transfer of work from the Local Government Board to the Home Office in exchange. This is 1551 difficult to arrange, but the matter has not been lost sight of.