HC Deb 21 November 1960 vol 630 cc762-3
45. Mr. Lipton

asked the Prime Minister if he will separate responsibility for housing from the present responsibilities of the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs and establish a separate Ministry of Housing.

The Secretary of State for the Home Department (Mr. R. A. Butler)

I have been asked to reply.

No, Sir.

Mr. Lipton

I appreciate the significance of that reply. I am anxious to meet the Government as far as I can, but will the Government, as an alternative, consider abolishing the Ministry of Housing and Local Government altogether? Is there any need for a Ministry of Housing and Local Government if, as the Government claim, housing is no longer a national problem?

Mr. Butler

The answer to the first part of that question is the same as before—No, Sir.