§ 25 and 26. Major Conantasked the Minister of Health (1) whether, in order that householders upon whom billeting demands are made may know what can legally be demanded of them, he will ensure that all billeting officials carry with them a clear statement indicating the maximum accommodation which they are entitled to demand and the exact conditions attached to it, and are required to show such a statement to householders and explain its implications before making any demands;
(2) whether he will ensure that all circulars issued to householders in respect to billeting contain in clear terms a statement as to the conditions upon which the billets are required?
§ Mr. E. BrownA statement of the billeting requirements, including the accommodation and services, if any, to be provided 928 by the householder, appears on the billeting notices which are issued by billeting officers to householders whenever billeting takes place. I am sending my hon. and gallant Friend copies of these notices, and if he has any special difficulty in mind and will give me particulars, I will gladly look into it.
§ Major ConantIs the right hon. Gentleman aware that officials temporarily employed often have only a very vague idea of their powers, and, in consequence, householders are misled in the offers they make and the requirements they are told they have to fulfil?
§ Mr. BrownIf the hon. and gallant Gentleman looks at the paper I am sending him he will see that there is no justification for that. There is, of course, no statutory maximum of accommodation which may be demanded, but as every billeting officer in the country, whether regular or temporary, is well aware, in ordinary circumstances the standard to which they work is one person per habitable room.