§ 43. Mr. J. Johnsonasked the Minister of Housing and Local Government if he is aware that there are thousands of caravans of all kinds in the British countryside with a lack of adequate sanitary facilities; and to what extent it is his policy to encourage the development of official caravan sites under the authority of local councils.
§ The Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Housing and Local Government (Mr. J. Enoch Powell)Local authorities, when granting licences for the use of caravans, can impose requirements for securing proper sanitation. Circumstances may render it desirable for local authorities to provide sites, and a number have done so with my right hon. Friend's approval. He is considering if there is any further advice he should give to local authorities on this problem in general.
§ Mr. JohnsonIs the Minister aware that since local authorities began this hopeful experiment to rid the countryside of these blots, the Government's financial policy has discouraged them enormously? Will he consider giving financial help in what is a very worth-while attempt to clear the countryside?
§ Mr. ShurmerIs the Minister aware that the caravan position has become very serious throughout the country? Owing to the need for homes, young couples are encouraged to buy caravans, and sites are given by farmers or landowners. Then the local authority steps in, as happened in a case just outside Birmingham, when a number of caravan dwellers were forced on to the side of the road because they had nowhere to go, and were prosecuted because their caravans were at the side of the road. The local authority then had to find them accommodation.
§ Mr. PowellThis is a very real problem. Local authorities have to fulfil both their public health and their housing duties.