§ 2. Dame Irene Wardasked the Minister of Housing and Local Government whether he is aware of the continued shortage of housing in the northern region; and how this compares with that of other regions.
§ Mr. H. BrookeThe housing conditions vary greatly in different parts of the region, so that it is not practicable to generalise about the region as a whole or its comparison with another.
§ Dame Irene WardWill my right hon. Friend accept my assurance that on the North-East Coast generally housing conditions are not such as to warrant the introduction of the full implications of the new Rent Bill—[HON. MEMBERS: "Hear, hear."]—particularly having regard to the lack of security of tenure for tenants? May I also ask my right hon. Friend to accept the assurance that would much rather have him as Minister of Housing than a member of the party opposite?
§ Mr. BrookeI think that comparisons are odious, but I am always grateful to my hon. Friend. I am not unaware of the difficulty of housing conditions on the North-East Coast. As to the Rent Bill, I think that we shall probably have considerable debates on that subject.
§ Mr. MarquandWill the right hon. Gentleman take an early opportunity of considering the representations which were made to his predecessor by industry, both employers and labour, and by local authorities in the northern region about the difficulty of attracting skilled labour to that expanding region, due to the shortage of housing?
§ Mr. BrookeThat goes further than the Question on the Order Paper. Perhaps the right hon. Gentleman will put down his question.