HC Deb 27 April 1944 vol 399 cc906-7
8. Mr. Keeling

asked the Minister of Town and Country Planning whether the Government propose to place on local authorities a statutory obligation to provide a minimum number of allotments, with security of tenure as recommended by Lord Justice Scott's Committee

The Minister of Town and Country Planning (Mr. W. S. Morrison)

Planning authorities are already required, by Statute, to consider what provision ought to be made in their planning schemes for the reservation of land for allotments, and I have already drawn the attention of planning authorities to the need for making proper and adequate provision of land for this purpose. The suggestion that a statutory obligation should be imposed upon local authorities to provide a minimum number of allotments would be impracticable, owing to the wide variation that exists in the local demand. I shall, in consultation with my right hon. Friend the Minister of Agriculture, consider the adequacy of proposals submitted to me by the planning authorities with regard to the allocation of land for allotment purposes.

Mr. Keeling

Will my right hon. Friend answer the second part of the Question, regarding security of tenure?

Mr. Morrison

Questions of tenure as between the allotment holder and whoever owns the land are not for me, but powers already exist for regulating the matter. I remember myself, as Minister of Agriculture, once intervening to prevent a local authority from building on allotment land. There are statutory powers already.

Mr. Keeling

Whose job is it to consider the recommendation of Lord Justice Scott's Committee on security of tenure?

Mr. Morrison

The question of tenure is a matter for my right hon. Friend the Minister of Agriculture. Lord Justice Scott's Committee did not recommend a minimum number of allotments as my hon. Friend suggests.

Mr. Keeling

I did not suggest it. My right hon. Friend has not observed the comma after "allotments" in my Question.

Mr. Godfrey Nicholson

Has my right hon. Friend any standard by which he can make up his mind whether the provision of land for allotments is adequate or not, or is it just a matter of taste?

Mr. Morrison

No, Sir. There exists in most places an allotment-holders' association and other bodies, which we can consult. One can estimate the demand for allotments, and then compare that with the allocation made by the local authority.