§ 37. Mrs. Mannasked the Secretary of State for Scotland why additional allocations of new council houses to tenants of privately-owned houses fails to affect the total number of houses available for letting.
§ Mr. J. StuartI would refer the hon. Member to the answer which my hon. and gallant Friend gave to her on 11th November. I have no reason to suppose that the total number of privately-owned rented houses being sold approaches the total annual addition to the letting pool by local authority building, but if the hon. Member has any figures on the subject I should be glad to have them.
§ Mrs. MannIs the right hon. Gentleman aware that this is an astonishing reply, along with the one that I received last week, and shows that the Secretary of State and his assistants are totally unaware of the position in Scotland whereby every empty house is put up at exploitation prices to the highest bidder? Is it not time that we sent the Secretary of State and his Under-Secretaries to Wales?
§ Mr. StuartOn balance, there has been a considerable increase in the number of houses completed for letting purposes.