HC Deb 03 March 1947 vol 434 cc2-3
1 and 2. Mr. Vane

asked the Minister of Supply (1) what system of accounting is adopted by his Department to enable managers of housing estates to account for the income and annual expenditure, including repairs, in respect of each property or estate under their management;

(2) what proportion of the total rent and estimated rental value in the case of properties occupied rent free in respect of all his Department's housing estates in England and Wales was expended during the last accounting year on repairs, insurance, management and other outgoings in order to enable the existing rental value to be maintained.

The Minister of Supply (Mr. John Wilmot)

Managers of housing estates account quarterly for all receipts and payments for which they are responsible. In the majority of cases repairs are undertaken by the Ministry of Works. The cost of repairs does not pass through the local housing manager's accounts and I regret, therefore, that the information asked for in Question No. 2 is not available.

Mr. Vane

Would it not be a great improvement if managers of housing estates did have some responsibility for the cost of repairs instead of leaving it all to the Ministry of Works, as at, present, and would the right hon. Gentleman not agree that the management of his Department's housing estates should be put on a businesslike basis comparable with that of other municipal or private estates?

Mr. Wilmot

They are on a comparable basis.