§ 3. Major Conantasked the Minister of Health the number of houses for which the approval of his Ministry has been requested by the Stourport-on-Severn Urban District Council and the number of houses approved.
§ Mr. BevanThe Urban District Council have applied for permission to seek tenders for the erection of 104 houses as 595 their short term programme. They have been authorised to obtain tenders for 24 houses as a first instalment, and have been informed that as soon as satisfactory prices have been obtained for these I shall be ready to consider proposals for a further instalment.
§ Major ConantIs the Minister aware that there are before this Council over 500 applications for houses, of which over half are from ex-Servicemen, and that they have a site ready for 104 houses? Why, therefore, is the Minister allowing only 24 houses to be built?
§ Mr. BevanThe answer which I have given is perfectly clear. In that area there are only enough men available to build 24 houses, and it would be absurd to have tenders accepted now for a larger number of houses, when the next instalment of houses ought to be built more cheaply.