§ Mr. RENDALLasked (1) if the President of the Local Government Board has recently sent an inspector to inspect the houses in the village of Winterbourne Stickland; whether he has read his report; if he will publish it; whether the local landlords have yet promised to build any houses; if so, how many; and, if not, does he propose to advise the district council to adopt the Housing and Town Planning Act; (2) when the right hon. Gentleman became aware that the parish council of Winterbourne Stickland, Dorset, had called the attention of the principal landlord to the dearth of cottages in that village in March last year, and that the parish council had asked the rural district council to adopt the building clauses of the Housing and Town Planning Act in the following May, 1911, without result; and (3) whether the right hon. Gentleman is aware that, in August, the medical officer of health of the Blandford District Council reported to that body concerning Winterbourne Stickland that the condition of many cottages was obviously neither conducive to health nor to morality; that, on the publication of this report, the landlord's agent served notices to quit on six tenants, including the vice-chairman of the parish council; and that the chairman of the parish council also received a notice to quit last December; and whether, seeing that during this year several old inhabitants in this village have been compelled to go into smaller cottages to make room for parishioners with larger families, and that many life-long inhabitants of this village are living in fear of being compelled to leave it owing to lack of decent accommodation, he proposes to take any action in the matter?
§ Mr. BURNSThe first intimation I received of the matters referred to was in a communication which I received from the chairman of the Winterbourne Stickland Parish Council on 1st January, 1912. Thereupon I communicated with the local authority. On 22nd January I received a formal complaint under Section 10 of the Housing, Town Planning, etc., Act, 1909, and early in February gave directions for a visit to be made by an inspector to con- 606 sider the needs of the place as to housing. I now have the report of the inspector before me, together with the report of the medical officer of health referred to. I am aware generally of the course which has been taken in giving notices to quit. Some of those notices have not been enforced, and I understand they will be held in abeyance until new cottages are built. The principal landlord in the parish has promised to build some houses, and I understand four cottages have been begun. The landlord informed me that if these were not sufficient he would build more. My hon. Friend will gather that I have already taken action, and that the matter is still engaging my earnest attention.