Local Authority Allocations (Hansard, 26 July 1955)

§ 1. Mr. Lewis
asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government why he refused the request of the municipal associations that local authority housing should be freed from quota allocation, similarly to houses built by private enterprise.

§ 14. Lieut.-Colonel Lipton
asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government what restrictions he still imposes on the building of houses by local authorities.

§ 21. Mr. Gibson
asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government whether he will give as much freedom to local housing authorities as has been given to private builders to build as many houses for letting as they think they are able, subject only to the condition that they are built to the standard of construction and fittings suggested by the Central Housing Advisory Committee.

§ The Minister of Housing and Local Government (Mr. Duncan Sandys)
The issue of allocations is an informal arrangement, introduced in 1947, to facilitate forward planning by local authorities. Local authorities are required by law to obtain sanction for loans and approval of houses for subsidy. I am not satisfied that it would be desirable to dispense with these procedures.

§ Mr. Lewis
Yes, but in view of the fact that private builders are not subject to the inhibitions experienced by local authorities, and in view of the fact that the municipal associations have made this request to the right hon. Gentleman, can he now state a satisfactory reason why he should not grant the request?

§ Mr. Sandys
I cannot automatically agree to approve any request that is made to me by an association.

§ Lieut.-Colonel Lipton
But has the right hon. Gentleman at least realised the folly and injustice of allowing private building to proceed, without any restriction whatever, to the detriment of local 963 authority building? Will he at least tell us what is his view about that and secure some equality of treatment between private builders and local authorities?

§ Mr. Sandys
There is nothing like equality of treatment. In fact, the ratio is about two-to-one in favour of the local authorities.

§ Mr. Gibson
Does not the Minister realise the growing difficulties of large local housing authorities in finding accommodation for those on their urgent lists? In view of that fact, will he not have a look at the possibility of releasing the local authorities from some of the restrictions which are imposed upon them at present, so long as the houses conform in their design with the plans suggested by the Central Housing Advisory Committee? Surely that would be sufficient?

§ Mr. Sandys
As I have explained in my answer, the only restrictions that are imposed by law are the requirements that local authorities have to obtain sanction for loans and approval of houses for subsidy. All this business of allocations is only an advance warning so that they may know some time ahead how many houses they may expect to have approved for loan sanction and for subsidy in the future. It is for convenience.

§ Mr. Mitchison
Is not the effect of the right hon. Gentleman's handling of these authorisations that the number of council houses is going down and the number of private houses is going up? In view of that, will not the right hon. Gentleman give these authorisations much more freely, or without any restriction at all, where they are reasonably required?

§ Mr. Sandys
The fact is that during the first five months of this year local and public authorities have built 88,000 houses, which is more than were built in any comparable period under the Labour Government.

§ 6. Mr. Sparks
asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government why the number of local authority and housing association houses under construction and in tenders approved is steadily falling.

§ Mr. Sandys
This is due to a variety of factors.

§ Mr. Sparks
Would the right hon. Gentleman give the House an assurance 964 that the number of new houses to be developed and completed by local authorities in the coming year will not fall below 300,000?

§ Mr. Sandys
It never got to more than 200,000 under the Labour Government.

§ Mr. Mitchison
Is the Chancellor one of the factors and, if so, what are the others?

§ Mr. Sandys
Among them are the rate of approval of tenders, the rate of construction, number of allocations, the speed of completions and the weather.

§ 15. Mr. MacColl
asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government if he will give an assurance that he will sanction all applications for increases in house-building made by local authorities affected by the Requisitioned Houses and Housing Amendment Act, 1955.

§ Mr. Sandys
This is, of course, one of the factors which will be taken into account when considering applications.

§ Mr. MacColl
When the Minister is considering these applications, will he make certain that no local authority is compelled to use for rehousing licensees new building which ought to be used for slum clearance and other purposes, and will he make sure that local authorities clearly understand his undertaking when the Bill was being considered that this would not happen?

§ Mr. Sandys
The hon. Gentleman, who took an active part in the debates on the Requisitioned Houses and Housing Amendment Bill, must know as well as I do that the Act provides a number of methods. It does not rely primarily upon new construction for winding up requisitioning. It provides various other methods, including the leasing or purchase of requisitioned houses, which are likely to play a much bigger part than the provision of new construction for this purpose.