§ 44. Miss Horsbrughasked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether the Department of Health has been consulted concerning suitable accommodation in Scotland for Basque children; and whether, if refugees from any foreign country are to be accommodated in Scotland, suitable arrangements will be made for them in country districts rather than 1969 in congested parts of the towns where the ratio of population to the acre is already considerably greater than accords with modern standards of health?
§ Mr. ElliotThe Department of Health has not been consulted on the question of finding accommodation in Scotland for Basque children, and the second part of the question does not therefore arise.
§ Miss HorsbrughWill my right hon. Friend make a statement as to the overcrowding in certain parts of the towns of Scotland that he knows to exist, in order that people who are arranging accommodation for these Basque children may arrange for them to go into the more depopulated areas of Scotland?
§ Mr. ElliotI do not think that question arises.
Miss RathboneIs the right hon. Gentleman aware that these children are going in small numbers, ranging from 25 to 1,000, and that many of them are being accommodated in homes and institutions all over the country, and therefore the addition to the population in any one of these overcrowded towns would not be serious?