39. Major Millsasked the Minister of Health whether he will negotiate in due course with the appropriate Service Ministers for the taking over of camps as they become vacant in the vicinity of over-crowded towns and villages to provide temporary housing accommodation, even if kitchens and wash-houses have to be for communal use until separate houses for all can be provided.
§ Mr. WillinkI would refer my hon. and gallant Friend to the answer which I gave on 5th October to my hon. and gallant Friend the Member for Wycombe (Sir A. Knox).
Vice-Admiral TaylorWill the Minister consider having the troops placed under canvas, thereby releasing considerable housing accommodation?
§ Mr. WillinkI think that my hon. and gallant Friend will realise on reflection that these camps need substantial adaptation and require a great deal of labour if they are to be made even tolerable for family use.
§ Major-General Sir Alfred KnoxIs this question being really explored, as these huts provide the only possible way of getting houses for people who are frightfully overcrowded?
§ Mr. WillinkI can assure my hon. and gallant Friend that the most close, care- 2526 ful and continuous thought is being given to the best use of labour for producing the maximum number of houses.
§ 63. Sir A. Knoxasked the Minister of Health if he will take over the A.T.S. camp at Chandler's Hill, now nearly vacant, and allot it to the billeting authorities of the Slough Borough and Eton Rural District Councils, in order to provide relief for some of the families of Service men, ex-Service men and war workers, who are at present living under bad conditions in Slough and neighbourhood.
§ Mr. WillinkI am obliged to my hon. and gallant Friend for this suggestion, and I will have inquiries made and communicate with him.