HC Deb 12 March 1958 vol 584 cc430-40

3.37 p.m.

Miss Alice Bacon (Leeds, South-East)

I beg to move, That leave be given to bring in a Bill to simplify and expedite the procedure for securing repairs of rent-controlled dwelling-houses; to shorten the time allowed for the performance of landlords' undertakings; to apply sub-paragraph (1) of paragraph 7 of the First Schedule to the Rent Act, 1957, in all cases where a certificate of disrepair is granted or a landlord's undertaking is not fulfilled, irrespective of the date of service of any notice of increase, and to repeal sub-paragraph (2) of that paragraph; to make it an offence for a landlord to demand or receive any rent, which by reason of the provisions of that paragraph the tenant is not obliged to pay or is entitled to withhold; to provide penalties for that offence; and for purposes connected with the matters aforesaid. Several of my hon. Friends have sought in recent weeks to introduce Bills to amend the Rent Act. The Bill I propose is rather different. Their Bills concerned decontrolled tenants who may, in October of this year, be without a roof over their heads. My proposed Bill is concerned with tenants who even at the present time have only part of a roof over their heads. They live in houses with gaping roofs, with cracked plaster and broken floorboards. Following the recent snowstorms some of them have scarcely been able to go upstairs to bed at night because of the water running down the walls. Most of such property has been bought and sold in blocks and the owners have never seen the property from which they have been drawing rents.

We care very deeply about these tenants as, indeed, we care about everything that is happening under the Rent Act. I say that in spite of the lying leaflet issued by the Tory Central Office this week. This disgraceful and wicked leaflet says, among other things: They"— that is us, the Socialist Party— want to see the old people in the streets". The leaflet ends by saying: Write to Hugh Gaitskell and tell him to stop helping the Communists". The party opposite must have a very weak case if that is the kind of thing that it has to put out. The whole of the leaflet is written round the personality of my right hon. Friend the Leader of the Opposition, whose constituency is next to mine. If the Minister of Housing and Local Government knew the plight and the conditions of his Hampstead constituents half so well as my right hon. Friend is aware of the plight of his Leeds constituents, perhaps the Minister would not be supporting the Rent Act today. Only last Saturday my right hon. Friend spent the whole morning advising his constituents, many of whom live in dilapidated old houses such as those with which my proposed Bill deals.

How many of those old houses and houses in disrepair there are, it is impossible to tell, but we can get some idea of the number from the fact that in 1945 the Ministry, in the booklet "Slum Clearance in England and Wales," estimated that in England and Wales alone there were 847,000 unfit houses. From January, 1955, to September, 1957, only 92,000 of those houses were cleared. Therefore, 750,000 unfit houses remain. I think that it is safe to assume that the majority of those houses are in disrepair and that there are many thousands of other houses in disrepair not included in that total.

It is clear that there are hundreds of thousands of houses in need of repair for which notices of rent increases could be issued. Under the Rent Act tenants of those houses can apply for a certificate of disrepair, but what has happened? Last week the Minister blandly declared in the House that only 13,000 certificates of disrepair had been issued. Why? The right hon. Gentleman gave as the reason that in all the other cases where a rent increase has been claimed the landlord has done the necessary repairs, or is doing them, or has undertaken to do them."—[OFFICIAL REPORT, 3rd March, 1958; Vol. 583, c. 856–7.] Hon. Friends who live in big cities such as I represent have not seen this great rush on the part of landlords to repair unfit houses. I have not noticed it. I wish the right hon. Gentleman would come to my constituency and find where all that repair work is going on. Instead of being proud of the fact that only 13,000 tenants have managed to get certificates of disrepair, he ought to be ashamed that, under the Act, only 13,000 have managed to get their rights in this respect.

I believe that the real reasons are three. First, some tenants hesitate to serve a notice on a landlord. It is true that they are protected today, but the Rent Act gives power to the Minister, at the stroke of the pen, to extend the number of houses coming out of control. Although they are protected today, who knows whether they will be protected next year if this Government stay in office? Secondly, they fear being involved in the courts, as they might well be. Thirdly, perhaps the main reason is the complicated and lengthy procedure which is weighted against the tenants.

A tenant has to obtain and fill in Form G. He then has to give the landlord six weeks' notice and the landlord has a further six months to do the repairs if he promises to do them. At the end of that time, we are finding, some landlords have defaulted and not carried out their promises. If the landlord does not promise within six weeks the tenant has to get another form, Form I, and go to the local authority with it, with 2s. 6d. The local authority has to send out inspectors and then to give the landlord another three weeks to think about the matter. If he decides to promise to do the repairs, he has another six months in which to do them.

All these forms have to be filled in by tenants. When we were the Government, the Tory Party said that the country was becoming a nation of form fillers. Under the Rent Act there are 21 forms of one kind or another which have to be filled in. This Bill would reduce the six months' period to one month except when, by agreement with the tenant, very extensive repairs have to be carried out. A certificate of disrepair could be granted immediately on application to the local authority. At present, the landlord can sit back, make promises, and receive increased rent, while the tenant has to run around and do everything. The first object of the Bill is to simplify and shorten the procedure for certificates of disrepair.

Two other provisions are connected with rent, If there is a certificate of disrepair, or if the landlord fails to carry out his undertaking, the tenant can deduct rent already paid, but the full amount that has been paid can only be deducted if the tenant applied for a certificate of disrepair within six months of the landlord serving notice of increase. Otherwise, the rent can remain permanently increased to one-and-a-third of the gross value. The Bill would remove the latter provision. We think that when a house is in disrepair and the landlord refuses to repair it there should be no permanent increase in rent.

The other provision in regard to rent is that if there is a certificate of disrepair, or if the landlord defaults, the tenant shall be entitled to withhold increased rent already claimed. It will he noticed that the onus is again put on the tenant. 'The tenant has to reckon up the rent and take steps to withhold the rent. The tenant may not know that. The tenant may not be able to calculate the correct rent. We believe that the duty should be placed on the landlord not to collect more rent than he is entitled to collect. The Bill makes provision for that and to make it an offence if the landlord does not carry out that duty.

The Bill I seek to introduce is a very small amending Bill, designed to speed things up, to make things less complicated, and to help tenants. We on this side of the House know that it is not the complete answer. We believe that the only solution for the rest of the country is to do as Birmingham has done, for local authorities to take over houses and repair them. In the meantime, I hope that the House will give leave to bring in this small Bill because I believe that it will help tenants in many thousands of houses.

3.49 p.m.

Miss Joan Vickers (Plymouth, Devonport)

I should like to thank the hon. Lady the Member for Leeds, South-East (Miss Bacon) for asking leave to bring in this Bill, because it gives us an added opportunity to explain the working of the Act to tenants of decontrolled premises. The hon. Lady says that they still do not understand the Act.

I will confine my remarks to the Motion and, first, would thank the hon. Lady for being one of the instigators in producing the 300,000 leaflets referring to Form G. I thank her because I am quite sure that we on this side of the House are equally anxious as hon. Members opposite that all tenants shall know their rights and have the opportunity to put in forms if necessary. It was interesting to note what the hon. Lady said about the number of certificates of disrepair which have been issued. A great many of those forms have been wasted. I think that that shows that the calculation made by the Government was better than that made by the hon. Lady, and may have saved the Government some expense in printing forms.

The object of the hon. Lady is to shorten the time given to the landlord to fulfil his undertaking. At present, the application takes six months. We should remember that if the landlord gives an undertaking he can do the work in less than that time. I suggest that it is only fair to the landlord and the tenant to allow to both of them the period stated in the Act.

First, there is the pressure of the demand on the building trade, and, secondly, the builders cannot do roof repairs, for instance, of which the hon. Lady spoke, in the kind of weather that we are having. [HON. MEMBERS: "Oh."] Some hon. Gentlemen opposite should come to the West Country to see the leaking roofs we have there, and they would see that it is not possible to repair them at present. Particularly in this weather tenants may have smoky fires, meaning that their chimney stacks are not in order, but that does not mean that the fireplaces are dangerous, and many of them would probably prefer to wait until a little later to have the benefit of the repair of their chimney stacks.

In some districts it is physically impossible for a small builder—I do not mean in the towns, but in the rural areas—to go perhaps seven or eight miles at the least to repair a house, and in those parts it may be necessary for a builder to wait till he has one or two jobs to do in a locality before he does one there.

It would discourage the landlord in giving the undertaking if he were confined to a period of one month and, therefore, even more certificates of disrepair might be required. I doubt whether there have been as many requests as suggested by the hon. Lady, and I do not think that the public health services would be able to do the work in the time suggested.

Some landlords have not sufficient money to pay for the repairs and they ought to be allowed this time in which to acquire some small capital to finance the necessary repairs. The tenant is protected from paying extra rent if the repairs are not done within six months and I think that we should wait a little longer to see whether they are done, and the rent can be reduced, as the hon. Lady stated, to one-and-one-third times the gross value.

The hon. Lady said that this was a complicated matter for the tenants. I would agree with her that in many ways it is, but there has been issued an admirable little book, The Rent Act and You. One has only to look at Question 49, Can the tenant get back an increase he has already paid? to find the answer set out in detail and how the tenant can do it. Moreover, the hon. Lady herself, I am sure, having been a teacher and very good at her profession, realises that people have a knowledge of how to read and write and fill in these forms. Tenants can get information from local authorities and advice from Citizens' Advice Bureaux. People whose rents are being paid by the National Assistance Board have a further protection, because they have the Board's officers to help and guide them.

I would say to the hon. Lady that I do not consider the forms to be as complicated as she made them out to be because to get a certificate it is not necessary for a tenant to define the structural repairs required. If his roof is leaking he does not have to say on the form how many slates on the roof have to be replaced. If his chimney is smoking he can say that his chimney is smoking and he does not have to state on the form what is structurally wrong with the building.

There are some quite frivolous requests from some people. Perhaps they make them for fun. Perhaps they make them because, as the hon. Lady said, they do not understand. There have been requests for a new doorknocker and the mending of an electric clock, and a complaint that the grass needed mowing. I think that some people are filling up some of these 300,000 forms a little frivolously. [An HON. MEMBER: In Devonport."] No, our houses in Devonport are in very good repair, and we have decontrolled houses rather than rent-controlled houses.

Mr. Denis Howell (Birmingham, All Saints)

Then where did the hon. Lady get her facts from?

Miss Vickers

I got them from Hertfordshire.

I would suggest to the hon. Lady that it is far better to fix the rent increase at one-and-one-third times the gross value than to leave it to the landlord or to relate it to any rent paid in the past; and this may be especially an advantage to a tenant who may have lost his old rent book.

The hon. Lady said that she wishes to make it an offence for a landlord to charge more than the permitted rent. It is already an offence for a landlord to make a false statement in a rent book about entitlement to rent. Therefore, I suggest that as no further legislation on that matter was passed even by the Labour Government, it is unnecessary now to have it.

Of the 15 million dwellings, the Rent Act applies to fewer than 5 million [HON. MEMBERS: "Oh."]—4¼ million—the rents of which may be raised but are still controlled^M—

Mr. Arthur Skeffington (Hayes and Harlington)

For how long?

Miss Vickers

—and it is only a small number which would benefit from the hon. Lady's proposal. I really do not think that there is any necessity for bringing in such a Bill as the hon. Lady wishes, and accordingly I oppose the Motion.

Question put, pursuant to Standing Order No. 12 (Motions for leave to bring in Bills and nomination of Select Committees at commencement of Public Business):—

The House divided: Ayes 202, Noes 232.

Division No. 66.] AYES [3.58 p.m.
Ainsley, J. W. Healey, Denis Pargiter, G. A.
Allaun, Frank (Salford, E.) Henderson, Rt. Hn. A. (Rwly Regis) Parker, J.
Allen, Scholefield (Crewe) Herbison, Miss M. Parkin, B. T.
Awbery, S. S. Hobson, C. R. (Keighley) Paton, John
Bacon, Miss Alice Holmes, Horace Pearson, A.
Balfour, A. Howell, Denis (All Saints) Peart, T. F.
Benson, Sir George Hughes, Cledwyn (Anglesey) Pentland, N.
Beswick, Frank Hughes, Emrys (S. Ayrshire) Plummer, Sir Leslie
Bevan, Rt. Hon. A. (Ebbw Vale) Hughes, Hector (Aberdeen, N.) Popplewell, E.
Blackburn, F. Hunter, A. E. Prentice, R. E.
Blenkinsop, A. Hynd, H. (Accrington) Price, Philips (Gloucestershire, W.)
Blyton, W, R. Hynd, J. B. (Attercliffe) Probert, A. R.
Boardman, H. Irvine, A. J. (Edge Hill) Proctor, W. T.
Bottomley, Rt. Hon. A. G. Janner, B. Randall, H. E.
Bowden, H. W. (Leicester, S.W.) Jay, Rt. Hon. D. P. T. Rankin, John
Bowles, F. G. Jeger, George (Goole) Reeves, J.
Boyd, T. C. Jeger, Mrs. Lena(Holbn & St. Pncs, S.) Reid, William
Brockway, A. F. Johnson, James (Rugby) Roberts, Albert (Normanton)
Broughton, Dr. A. D. D. Jones, Rt. Hon. A. Creech (Wakefield) Roberts, Goronwy (Caernarvon)
Brown, Rt. Hon. George (Belper) Jones, David (The Hartlepools) Robinson, Kenneth (St. Pancras, N.)
Brown, Thomas (Ince) Jones, Elwyn (W. Ham, S.) Rogers, George (Kensington, N.)
Burke, W. A. Jones, Jack (Rotherham) Ross, William
Burton, Miss F. E. Jones, J. Idwal (Wrexham) Royle, C.
Butler, Herbert (Hackney, C.) Jones, T. W. (Merioneth) Shinwell, Rt. Hon. E.
Butler, Mrs. Joyce (Wood Green) Key, Rt. Hon. C. W. Short, E. W.
Callaghan, L. J. King, Dr. H. M. Silverman, Julius (Aston)
Carmichael, J. Lawson, G. M. Silverman, Sydney (Nelson)
Castle, Mrs. B. A. Lee, Frederick (Newton) Simmons, C. J. (Brlerley Hill)
Champion, A. J. Lee, Miss Jennie (Cannock) Skeffington, A. M.
Chapman, W. D. Lewis, Arthur Slater, Mrs. H. (Stoke, N.)
Chelwynd, G. R. Lipton, Marcus Slater, J. (Sedgefield)
Clunie, J. Logan, D. G. Sorensen, R. W.
Coldrick, W. MacColl, J. E. Sparks, J. A.
Collins, V. J.(Shoreditch & Finsbury) MacDermot, Niall Steele, T.
Cove, W. G. McGhee, H. G. Stewart, Michael (Fulham)
Craddock, George (Bradford, S.) McInnes, J. Stonehouse, John
Cronin, J. D. McKay, John (Wallsend) Stones, W. (Consett)
Crossman, R. H. S. McLeavy, Frank Strachey, Rt. Hon. J.
Cullen, Mrs. A. MacMillan, M. K. (Western Isles) Summerskill, Rt. Hon. E.
Dalton, Rt. Hon. H. MacPherson, Malcolm (Stirling) Sylvester, G. O.
Darling, George (Hillsborough) Mahon, Simon Taylor, Bernard (Mansfield)
Davies, Ernest (Enfield, E.) Mainwaring, W. H. Taylor, John (West Lothian)
Davies, Harold (Leek) Mann, Mrs. Jean Thomas, George (Cardiff)
Davies, Stephen (Merthyr) Marquand, Rt. Hon. H. A. Thomson, George (Dundee, E.)
Deer, G. Mason, Roy Tomney, F.
de Freitas, Geoffrey Mayhew, C. P. Usborne, H. C.
Diamond, John Mellish, R. J. Viant, S. P.
Dodds, N. N. Mikardo, Ian Wade, D. W.
Ede, Rt. Hon. J. C. Mitchison, G. R. Watkins, T. E.
Edwards, Rt. Hon. John (Brighouse) Wells, Percy (Faversham)
Edwards, Rt. Hon. Ness (Caerphilly) Monslow, W. Wells, William (Walsall, N.)
Edwards, W. J. (Stepney) Moody, A. S.
Evans, Albert (Islington, S.W.) Morris, Percy (Swansea, W.) Wheeldon, W. E.
Fernyhough, E. Morrison, Rt. Hn. Herbert (Lewis'm, S.) White, Mrs. Eirene (E. Flint)
Fletcher, Eric Mort, D. L. Wilcock, Group Capt. C. A. B.
Fraser, Thomas (Hamilton) Moyle, A. Wilkins, W. A.
Gaitskell, Rt. Hon. H. T. N. Mulley, F. W. Willey, Frederick
George, Lady Megan Lloyd (Car'then) Neal, Harold (Bolsover) Williams, Ronald (Wigan)
Gibson, C. W. Noel-Baker, Francis (Swindon) Williams, Rt. Hon. T. (Don Valley)
Gordon Walker, Rt. Hon. P. C. Oliver, G. H. Williams, W. R. (Openshaw)
Greenwood, Anthony Oram, A. E. Willis, Eustace (Edinburgh, E.)
Grey, C. F. Orbach, M. Winterbottom, Richard
Griffiths, David (Rother Valley) Oswald, T. Woodburn, Rt. Hon. A.
Griffiths, Rt. Hon. James (Llanelly) Owen, W. J. Woof, R. E.
Grimond, J. Paget, R. T. Yates, V. (Ladywood)
Hall, Rt. Hn. Glenvil (Colne Valley) Paling, Rt. Hon. W. (Dearne Valley) Zilliacus, K.
Harrison, J. (Nottingham, N.) Paling, Will T. (Dewsbury)
Hastings, S. Palmer, A. M, F. TELLERS FOR THE AYES:
Hayman, F. H. Pannell, Charles (Leeds, W.) Mr. Moss and Mr. Redhead.
NOES
Agnew, Sir Peter Balniel, Lord Birch, Rt. Hon. Nigel
Aitken, W. T. Barber, Anthony Bishop, F. P.
Allan, R. A. (Paddington, S.) Barter, John Bossom, Sir Alfred
Alport, C. J. M. Beamish, Col. Tufton Braithwaite, Sir Albert (Harrow, W.)
Amery, Julian (Preston, N.) Bell, Philip (Bolton, E.) Bromley-Davenport, Lt.-Col. W. H.
Arbuthnot, John Bell, Ronald (Bucks, S.) Brooke, Rt. Hon. Henry
Armstrong, C. W. Bevins, J. R. (Toxteth) Brooman-White, R. C.
Baldock, Lt.-Cmdr. J. M. Biggs-Davison, J. A. Browne, J. Nixon (Craigton)
Baldwin, A. E. Bingham, R. M. Bryan, P.
Butler. Rt. Hn. R. A. (Saffron Walden) Hirst, Geoffrey Orr-Ewing, Charles Ian (Hendon, N.)
Campbell, Sir David Hornby, R. P. Osborne, C.
Carr, Robert Horobin, Sir Ian Page, R. G.
Cary, Sir Robert Horsbrugh, Rt. Hon. Dame Florence Pannell, N. A. (Kirkdale)
Channon, Sir Henry Howard, Gerald (Cambridgeshire) Partridge, E.
Chichester-Clark, R. Howard, John (Test) Peel, W. J.
Cole, Norman Hughes Hallett, Vice-Admiral J. Peyton, J. W. W.
Conant, Maj. Sir Roger Hughes-Young, M. H. C. Pike, Miss Mervyn
Cooke, Robert Hutchison, Michael Clark (E'b'gh, S.) Pilkington, Capt. R. A.
Cooper, A. E. Hyde, Montgomery Pitman, I. J.
Cooper-Key, E. M. Hylton-Foster, Rt. Hon. Sir Harry Pitt, Miss E. M.
Cordeaux, Lt.-Col. J. K. Iremonger, T. L. Pott, H. P.
Corfield, Capt. F. V. Irvine, Bryant Godman (Rye) Powell, J. Enoch
Craddock, Beresford (Spelthorne) Jenkins, Robert (Dulwich) Price, David (Eastleigh)
Crosthwaite-Eyre, Col. O. E. Jennings, J. C. (Burton) Prior-Palmer, Brig. O. L.
Crowder, Sir John (Finchley) Johnson, Dr. Donald (Carlisle) Profumo, J. D.
Dance, J. C. G. Johnson, Eric (Blackley) Ramsden, J. E.
Davidson, Viscountess Jones, Rt. Hon. Aubrey (Hall Green) Rawlinson, Peter
D'Avigdor-Goldsmid, Sir Henry Joseph, Sir Keith Redmayne, M.
Digby, Simon Wingfield Kaberry, D. Remnant, Hon. P.
Dodds-Parker, A. D. Keegan, D. Renton, D. L. M.
Donaldson, Cmdr. C. E. McA. Kerby, Capt. H. B. Ridsdale, J. E.
Drayson, G. B. Kerr, Sir Hamilton Rippon, A. G. F.
du Cann, E. D. L. Kimball, M. Roberts, Sir Peter (Heeley)
Dugdale, Rt. Hn. Sir T. (Richmond) Kirk, P. M. Robertson, Sir David
Duncan, Sir James Lancaster, Col. C. G. Robinson, Sir Roland (Blackpool, S.)
Duthie, W. S. Langford-Holt, J. A. Rodgers, John (Sevenoaks)
Eden, J. B. (Bournemouth, West) Leather, E. H. C. Roper, Sir Harold
Elliott, R. W. (Ne'castle upon Tyne, N.) Leavey, J. A. Scott-Miller, Cmdr. R.
Emmet, Hon. Mrs. Evelyn Leburn, W. G. Sharples, R. C.
Errington, Sir Eric Legge-Bourke, Maj. E. A. H. Shepherd, William
Farey-Jones, F. W. Legh, Hon. Peter (Petersfield) Simon, J. E. S. (Middlesbrough, W.)
Fell, A. Lindsay, Hon. James (Devon, N.) Smithers, Peter (Winchester)
Finlay, Graeme Lindsay, Martin (Solihull) Soames, Rt. Hon. Christopher
Fisher, Nigel Linstead, Sir H. N. Spearman, Sir Alexander
Fletcher-Cooke, C. Lloyd, Maj. Sir Guy (Renfrew, E.) Speir, R. M.
Fraser, Sir Ian (M'cmbe & Lonsdale) Longden, Gilbert Stanley, Capt. Hon. Richard
Freeth, Denzil Low, Rt. Hon. Sir Toby Steward, Harold (Stockport, S.)
Gammans, Lady Lucas-Tooth, Sir Hugh Stoddart-Scott, Col. Sir Malcolm
Garner-Evans, E. H. McAdden, S. J. Storey, S.
George, J. C. (Pollok) Macdonald, Sir Peter Stuart, Rt. Hon. James (Moray)
Gibson-Watt, D. McKibbin, Alan Studholme, Sir Henry
Glover, D. Mackie, J. H. (Galloway) Summers, Sir Spencer
Glyn, Col. Richard H. Maclean, Sir Fitzroy (Lancaster) Taylor, William (Bradford, N.)
Godber, J. B. Macleod, Rt. Hn. Iain (Enfield, W.) Teeling, W.
Goodhart, Philip Macmillan, Maurice (Halifax) Temple, John M.
Gower, H. R. Macpherson, Niall (Dumfries) Thomas, Leslie (Canterbury)
Graham, Sir Fergus Maddan, Martin Thompson, Kenneth (Walton)
Grant, W. (Woodside) Maitland, Cdr. J. F. W. (Horncastle) Thompson, R. (Croydon, S.)
Grant-Ferris, Wg Cdr. R.(Nantwich) Maitland, Hon. Patrick (Lanark) Thorneycroft, Rt. Hon. P.
Green, A. Markham, Major Sir Frank Thornton-Kemsley, Sir Colin
Grimston, Hon. John (St. Albans) Tiley, A. (Bradford, W.)
Grimston, Sir Robert (Westbury) Marlowe, A. A. H. Tilney, John (Wavertree)
Grosvenor, Lt.-Col. R. G. Marples, Rt. Hon. A. E.
Hall, John (Wycombe) Maude, Angus Turton, Rt. Hon. R. H.
Harris, Frederic (Croydon, N.W.) Mawby, R. L. Vane, W. M. F.
Harris, Reader (Heston) Maydon, Lt.-Comdr. S. L. C. Vickers, Miss Joan
Harrison, A. B. C. (Maldon) Milligan, Rt. Hon. W. R. Wakefield, Edward (Derbyshire, W.)
Harrison, Col. J. H. (Eye) Molson, Rt. Hon. Hugh Walker-Smith, Rt. Hon. Derek
Harvey, Sir Arthur Vere (Macclesf'd) Moore, Sir Thomas Wall, Patrick
Harvey, Ian (Harrow, E.) Nabarro, G. D. N. Watkinson, Rt. Hon. Harold
Harvey, John (Walthamstow, E.) Nairn, D. L. S. Webbe, Sir H.
Hay, John Neave, Airey Whitelaw, W. S. I.
Heald, Rt. Hon. Sir Lionel Nicholls, Harmar Williams, Paul (Sunderland, S.)
Heath, Rt. Hon. E. R. G. Nicholson, Sir Godfrey (Farnham) Williams, R. Dudley (Exeter)
Henderson-Stewart, Sir James Nicolson, N. (B'n'm'th, E. & Chr'ch) Wills, G. (Bridgwater)
Hicks-Beach, Maj. W. W. Noble, Comdr. R. Hon. Allan Woollam, John Victor
Hilt, Rt. Hon. Charles (Luton) Nugent, G. R. H.
Hill, Mrs. E. (Wythenshawe) Oakshott, H. D. TELLERS FOR THE NOES:
Hinchingbrooke, Viscount Ormsby-Gore, Rt. Hon. W. D. Sir Herbert Butcher and
Sir Lancelot Joynson-Hicks