§ 71. Lieut.-Colonel CROFTasked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Munitions whether he is aware that a 39 house in Cromwell Road was commandeered in June, 1918, at the nominal rent of £100 per annum, and that the tenant clearly stated that this rent was only accepted because the house was commandeered; whether it is now claimed that the house was not commandeered; whether last March the tenant asked that a fair market rate should be paid for the house, and whether the Disposal Board then offered to recommend the Treasury that £200 per annum should be paid for the remainder of the lease on condition that at its termination the Government should have a lease of 7 or 14 years at £300 per annum; whether this offer was declined; and what steps the Disposal Board intend to take to restore this property to its rightful owner, and to give compensation for the loss incurred?
§ The FIRST COMMISSIONER of WORKS (Sir A. Mond)The house referred to was not commandeered, but taken under agreement. The question of revising the agreement was recently raised by the lessor. An offer on the lines mentioned was made by my Department as a compromise, but was not accepted. It is not possible to surrender the house, as the accommodation is required for Government staffs, and no reason is seen for releasing the owner from the agreement, but my Department is at present considering whether any concession can be made in regard to the amount of rent named in the agreement.
§ Lieut.-Colonel CROFTMay I ask whether this proposal to take a lease of this house for fourteen years explains what is going on in the Disposal Board at the present time?
§ Sir A. MONDI know nothing at all about the Disposal Board.