§ 16. Lieut.-Colonel Liptonasked the Minister of Housing and Local Government whether he will publish in the quarterly housing summaries the number of applicants on the housing lists of local authorities.
§ Mr. SandysNo, Sir.
§ Lieut.-Colonel LiptonIs the Minister too ashamed or too afraid to publish these figures, which have been increasing steadily since 1951, and is he not aware that, as a result of his wretched policy during the last year or two, we shall have more and more people waiting for less and less houses?
§ Mr. SandysThe information derived from these lists gives an erroneous picture of the effective total demand, and also of its distribution between the various local authorities.
§ Mr. MitchisonWhat steps is the right hon. Gentleman taking to get, and to present to the House, a correct picture?
§ Mr. SandysThe reply I gave to the hon. and gallant Member was an exact quotation from one given by the right hon. Gentleman the Member for Ebbw Vale (Mr. Bevan), and I have not been able to improve on it.
§ Lieut.-Colonel LiptonOwing to the unsatisfactory nature of that reply, I beg to give notice that I shall raise the matter on the Adjournment.
§ 36. Mr. Sorensenasked the Minister of Housing and Local Government to what extent he has a statistical and other assessment of the present extent of the approximate number of persons and families living in overcrowded and also in slum conditions, who are living in rest-houses and who are on local authority housing lists but who cannot expect to be rehoused within their local authority area because building sites are not now available; and if he will request local authorities to assist in the compiling and provision of such information.
§ Mr. SandysIt is desirable that local authorities should maintain a full record 970 of housing applications made to them. But it would be difficult to compile statistics nationally on a comparable basis.
§ Mr. SorensenCan the right hon. Gentleman say why it is impossible to collect from local authorities statistics which they have, or should have, so that we might have some conception of the national burden still remaining, particularly in regard to the unfortunate people who are in rest-houses and similar places and never know when they are going to be rehoused?
§ Mr. SandysThe Question covered all people who are on housing lists in general. As I explained earlier, the basis on which local authorities compile housing lists and the conditions which they lay down vary so enormously from district to district that to mass all the figures together into a single national global total would be most misleading.
§ Mr. SorensenMost unsatisfactory.