§ 15. Mr. Mappasked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs what immediate plans he has for attracting and maintaining qualified staff in all phases of slum clearance work in sufficient numbers to help overcome this problem in the older towns before 1970.
§ Sir K. JosephThis most important contribution to this is, I think, to settle long forward programmes so that all concerned know what will be needed. But we must also ensure economy in the use of qualified staff, and this I hope to do by encouraging co-operation between local authorities, especially in the use of standard building types, components and fittings, and in placing contracts for industrialised building systems.
§ Mr. MappIs the Minister aware that the bottleneck has been there for years? Will he consider, in the light of what he said a few days ago, recruiting a major task force to his Department, which could be on loan to the local authorities which have a very heavy backlog, or, if he is unable to do that, will he consider ways and means in which local authorities can provide the inducement to get this vast volume of technical qualified staff to their service from the private sector?
§ Sir K. JosephI hope that my Ministry's office in Manchester, although not large in numbers, will be a most effective task force. I think that the hon. Gentleman has underestimated the attractions to professional staff of long forward programmes which I am now enabling local authorities to have.
§ 20. Mr. Boydenasked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs what steps he has taken, in consultation with the fifty local authorities whose slum clearance programme indicated the worst problem on 22nd November, 1960, to ensure that each authority has now a satisfactory complement of technical staff.
§ Sir K. JosephThe technical staffing of local authorities is a matter for the authorities themselves. But my new Northern Housing Office will be fostering co-operation between housing authorities in the use of a limited range of dwelling types, and of improved systems of building. Both measures should reinforce the efforts of the technical staffs of authorities.
§ Mr. BoydenWill the Minister explain how, for instance, some of the small authorities in the North-East are to cope with the extra building—for which we are very glad that he is providing the money—if the staff are not already there? Will not the setting up of a consortium of this sort require extra staff at the local level to begin with before the work of the consortium can take effect? What will the Minister do in the next twelve months?
§ Sir K. JosephSpecifically, this joining together of local authorities for certain purposes will economise in the efforts of officers in examining different systems or going through various processes connected with contract procedure. I hope that it will be very effective.
§ Mr. BoydenIs it not the first stage which requires more staff? Will not the actual negotiations and complications in setting up 'the consortium require more staff and more effort for the time being?
§ Sir K. JosephNo; the hon. Gentleman is wrong. It may take more effort in the first stage, but the results will be much more effective when they come about, and the effort can be shared between the officers of different local authorities.