27. Mr. Creech Jonesasked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what steps are being taken to clean up the slums and create better drainage in Lagos; and whether he will take energetic action and see that the necessary money is forth coming so that a big programme of housing, slum-clearance and sanitary improvement is immediately and energetically embarked on?
§ The Secretary of State for the Colonies (Mr. Malcolm MacDonald)Slum clearance in Lagos is being carried out by the Lagos Development Board established in 1929, when a sum of £200,000 was placed at its disposal. By the end of 1938 one-third of the slum areas had been dealt with, and in that year a further grant of £50,000 spread over four years was approved to enable the work to be continued. I am asking the Governor of Nigeria to consider what steps can usefully be taken to accelerate work on the matters raised in the hon. Member's Question, and he will no doubt bear in mind the possibility of applying for assistance towards it in due course under the policy which was announced last week.