§ Mr. CASSELasked whether the Camberwell Borough Council, who had made closing orders that were recently the subject of appeal to the Board, was among the authorities that have expressed dissatisfaction with the appeal procedure of the Board?
§ Mr. BURNSI am not aware that the Camberwell Borough Council have passed any resolution in favour of the substitution of a judicial tribunal for the Local Government Board as the appeal tribunal, although they have expressed some dissatisfaction with the method of procedure adopted under Section 17 of the Housing, Town Planning, etc., Act, 1909.
§ Mr. LANE-FOXIf the dissatisfaction of local authorities is brought to his notice, will the right hon. Gentleman give full weight to it and consider an alteration of the law?
§ Mr. BURNSMost certainly; but of the thirty-two local authorities which have already made representations, not one has had any experience under the Act.
§ Mr. CASSELHas not the Camberwell Borough Council had experience?
§ Mr. BURNSYes, but not on this particular point. Their representation was as to the cost of the appeal.
§ Mr. CASSELasked the President of the Local Government Board whether the inspector nominated by the Board to preside at a local public inquiry for the hearing of an appeal was required to have any, and, if so, what legal or other qualifications; whether the Board claimed that the inspector's 892 report was a confidential commuication to itself, and that an appellant was not entitled to know its contents; and whether, after a local public inquiry had been held and the inspector had reported, the Board held itself free to make any order it thought fit, so that, if it pleased it could ignore the inspector's report?
§ Mr. BURNSThe inspectors of the Local Government Board who hold local inquiries in regard to appeals to the Board against closing and demolition orders are specially qualified to deal with the questions raised at such inquiries, and were specially selected by me on account of their qualifications. They have had ample experience in connection with building construction, and it devolves upon them, when holding an inquiry, to make a careful inspection of the premises in regard to which the appeal is made. The reports made to the Board by their inspectors are regarded as confidential documents. The appeal is made to the Board, and the Board decide it after carefully considering the whole of the facts before them.