§ 6. Miss Burtonasked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs whether he is aware that some corporations, empowered to advance money on mortgages under the Small Dwellings Acquisition Acts, 1899 to 1923, to assist the purchase of existing houses or the construction of new houses, demand that women applicants supply a guarantor; and if he will introduce amending legislation to prohibit such restriction.
§ Mr. H. BrookeI have no evidence that local authorities in granting mortgages require women borrowers to supply a guarantor. I propose, however, to send a circular to local authorities making it a condition of schemes under the Housing Act that loans be given without distinction of sex. I cannot do this in respect of loans made under the Small Dwellings Acquisition Acts, as the conditions governing loans under these Acts are embodied in law; but most loans for house purchase are now made under the Housing Acts, and use of the Small Dwellings Acquisition Acts is steadily declining.
§ Miss BurtonWhile I was glad to hear the last part of that Answer, may I ask if the Minister is aware that I have with me the printed form for the scheme and general conditions of the County Borough of Hastings under these Acts, and that paragraph 9 says:
The council will require to be satisfied that the applicant for the loan is capable of meeting his repayments, and where the applicant is a female, and in certain other cases, a guarantor of the repayments will be required.Would not the Minister agree that such language is both outrageous and indefensible today? Could he find whether the County Borough of Hastings, following our debates in this House, is still using such out-of-date words?
§ Mr. BrookeI recognise that it is not only the building societies which the hon. Lady is up against, but certain local authorities. I have no evidence from Hastings and there is no reason why I should have because it is not obligatory on the council to tell me exactly what it is doing, I repeat my assurance that I shall tell all local authorities that in future it will be an important condition of my approval of schemes under the Housing Acts that there must be no discrimination such as that to which the hon. Lady objects.
§ Mr. MitchisonIf the right hon. Gentleman has not the necessary power under the Small Dwellings Acquisition Acts, could not he put down an Amendment today to be taken on the Report stage tomorrow of the House Purchase and Housing Bill?
§ Mr. BrookeNo, I think it would be outside the scope of that Bill and, in any case, as the number of loans under these Acts is steadily declining in relation to the Housing Acts, I do not think that is really necessary.
§ 7. Miss Burtonasked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs if he has considered the evidence supplied to him by the hon. Member for Coventry, South, on 17th December last relating to the demand for male guarantors in the case of women applicants for mortgage loans t and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. H. BrookeI would refer the hon. Member to the Answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Tynemouth (Dame Irene Ward) on 22nd January, and to the debate on the Committee stage of the House Purchase and Housing Bill on 4th February.
§ Miss BurtonThe Minister will not mind if I prefer the Answers given to me on this matter. Is he aware that since those Answers and the statement by the Building Societies Association that no such discrimination is made, many people, including several of his own party, say that the association is not telling the truth? Will he look into the matter of further evidence?
§ Mr. BrookeI should be prepared to look into further any evidence, but what the Building Societies Association has done is to inform me that, as regards 190 eleven societies which I thought the hon. Lady had in mind, it is the practice of those societies not to discriminate and not to demand that a woman shall have a guarantor. It is against the policy of the association as such to do that.