§ 8. Mr. J. Johnsonasked the Minister of Housing and Local Government the numbers of houses completed annually for 1948 to 1953, respectively, by the Rugby local authority; and what are the housing allocations for 1954 and 1955, respectively.
§ 10. Lieut.-Colonel Liptonasked the Minister of Housing and Local Government how many new houses he estimates will be provided in 1955 by local authorities and private builders, respectively.
§ 11. Mr. Edelmanasked the Minister of Housing and Local Government why 1556 he has reduced Coventry's allocation of new municipal houses for the next year from 2,000 to 1,500; and whether he is aware that the proposed new total is inadequate for the city's housing need.
§ 16 and 17. Mr. Fernyhoughasked the Minister of Housing and Local Government (1) what instructions he has given to his regional officials with regard to the allocation of houses to be built by local authorities in the year 1955;
(2) How many houses are likely to be completed by local authorities for the year ended 31st December; and how many he anticipates they will build in the year ending 31st December, 1955.
§ 20 Mr. G. Jegerasked the Minister of Housing and Local Government (1) why he has cut the allocation of council houses at Knottingley and refused permission for the building of houses in accordance with its plans;
(2) why he has refused to allow the Goole Council to build 183 houses and flats next year, and cuts its allocation to 123;
(3) how many local authorities have had their housing plans for next year reduced by his action; and the total number of council houses and flats for which he has refused permission to build.
§ Mr. SandysI will, with permission, circulate in the OFFICIAL REPORT the figures for Rugby asked for in the first part of Question No. 8.
The number of subsidised houses built for letting in Great Britain during the present year is likely to be somewhat over 250,000 including about 220,000 built by local authorities. In addition some 90,000 houses will be provided by private enterprise.
It is not customary to publish figures of authorisations, or forecasts of completions in respect of future years. I can, however, say that the authorisations already issued or shortly to be issued should be sufficient to enable local authorities to complete about the same number of houses next year as they have done this year, which is an all-time record.
§ Mr. JohnsonWhile thanking the Minister in anticipation for the figures which I hope to get—whatever they may be—may I ask the Minister if he is aware of the very acute housing shortage in Rugby, due to the influx of workers for the booming export industries of engineering and cars? [HON. MEMBERS: "Hear, hear."] Is the Minister aware of the disappointment at the number of houses which have been built, and will he look sympathetically on any future request by the town council for an increase in its housing allocation?
§ Mr. SandysI am glad to hear that prosperity has come to Rugby—
§ Mr. JohnsonIt has always been there.
§ Mr. Sandys—though this may create increased problems. Naturally I will consider any representations which the 1558 hon. Member or the council wish to make.
§ Mr. EdelmanIs the Minister aware that his omnibus reply will not be well received in Coventry, where there are 10,000 people on the housing list? Is he further aware that there is general dissatisfaction with his under-the-counter method of altering the housing ratio, and in those circumstances is he prepared to receive a deputation from the Coventry City Council about this matter?
§ Mr. SandysI do not know what the hon. Member means by "under-the-counter method of altering the ratio." If he means the ratio between local authorities and private enterprise, I can assure him that we are not working to any fixed ratio whatsoever as between local authority and private enterprise building. This criticism comes ill, both from him and from other hon. Members opposite, in that in their best year the previous Government provided 195,000 houses to let, whereas, as I have just announced, in the present year we are providing over 250,000 houses.
§ Mr. JegerWill the Minister be good enough to give an answer to my Question, which he lumped in with several others? Why has he refused to allow councils to build as many houses as they had planned to do during next year? Will he also say why, as his predecessor instructed local authorities to go full steam ahead and build as many council houses as they could, he is now restricting them in the fulfilment of the plans which they had prepared?
§ Mr. SandysI do not think that the hon. Member heard my answer—
§ Mr. Sandys—in which I said, and I will read out the passage again to make it quite clear:
…authorisations already issued or shortly to be issued should be sufficient to enable local authorities to complete about the same number of houses next year as they have done this year, which is an all-time record.
§ Mr. FernyhoughSince Her Majesty's Government recently decided to abolish all licences, can the right hon. Gentleman give an assurance that local authorities will be able to obtain all the materials which they require in order to maintain 1559 a housing programme in 1955 of not less than that which they were able to complete in 1954?
§ Mr. SandysI have not referred to building materials. I have said that we have issued sufficient authorisations to enable local authorities to complete as many houses in 1955 as they completed during this last year, and I have every reason to believe that the necessary materials will be available.
§ Mr. JayDo the figures of houses built to let which the Minister has given include houses to be built by private enterprise, and not allocated by local authorities according to need?
§ Mr. SandysIn my reply I referred to subsidised houses built for letting. That includes the houses of local authorities, housing associations, and various other agencies, but it does not include houses built by private enterprise to let without subsidy.
§ Lieut.-Colonel LiptonWhy is the right hon. Gentleman trying to cover the fact that all over the country he or his regional representatives have been making savage and indeed callous cuts in council housing programmes? [HON. MEMBERS: "Oh."] The figures provided will substantiate that accusation. Why is he taking houses started in 1952 into the calculation for the purpose of bolstering up these purely fictitious figures? [HON. MEMBERS: "No."] Will the Minister explain which local authorities have had their housing allocations so vastly increased as to more than outweigh the savage cuts already made all over the country in respect of the 1955 council housing programmes?
§ Mr. SandysI think that there is a misunderstanding about all this. As was pointed out by my predecessor several times, the issue of authorisations is a continuing process. Those that are at present being issued relate partly to building in 1955 and partly to building in 1956—
§ Lieut.-Colonel LiptonThere have been savage cuts.
§ Mr. SandysIt is no use the hon. and gallant Gentleman or other hon. Members opposite trying to stir up controversy over housing—[Laughter.] They may laugh, but the only result will be to remind the country of their own ignominious record.
§ Following are the figures of local authority houses completed since the war in Rugby:
| 1st April, 1945 to 31st Dec., 1946 | 46 |
| 1947 | 129 |
| 1948 | 539 |
| 1949 | 70 |
| 1950 | 102 |
| 1951 | 58 |
| 1952 | 116 |
| 1953 | 189 |