§ 26. Commander Purseyasked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs what is the number of privately-owned slum clearance houses to be demolished 791 in Hull; and what assistance he will provide for the Corporation to enable slum clearance to be speeded up and new houses built in lieu.
§ Sir K. JosephTwelve thousand of the houses reported by the Corporation to be unfit in 1955 have still to be demolished. The Northern Housing Office of my Department which has recently been opened in Manchester will give administrative and technical assistance to Hull and other authorities with big slum clearance tasks, and help them in every possible way to speed up clearance and rebuilding.
§ Commander PurseyFrom where is the additional labour to come? The Minister has already admitted that the building industry is fully occupied. Why does not he check office and shop and other luxury building and so free labour for the first priority of council house building?
§ Sir K. JosephI am allowing local authorities to set firm building programmes for five years ahead. That will enable them to attract building firms and building labour which have not so far worked in their areas.
§ 27. Commander Purseyasked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs what steps he will take to enable Hull Corporation to build an increased number of houses yearly, in addition to those for the replacement of slum clearance houses.
§ Sir K. JosephThe Corporation's priority task is to clear and replace the slums and I understand that it is its intention over the next few years substantially to increase its output for this purpose. It is for the Corporation to decide how to allocate its houses; so far as I am concerned, the important thing is that it should build as many as it can.
§ Commander PurseyHow is the extra land to be obtained and how are the exorbitant prices to be paid? Prices have rocketed under the Tory Government so that the position now is worse than it was in 1951, and many people in the lower income groups are unable to pay economic council rents.
§ Sir K. JosephI have already said that land has to be provided to enable local authorities to keep up an accelerated rate of progress. I still stand by that.