§ 17. Sir B. Jannerasked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs what steps he is taking to provide accommodation for persons who will be compelled to move on obtaining work in a new district when they lose their present work owing to redundancy.
§ Sir K. JosephI look forward to a rising programme of house-building as the best way of helping mobility of labour at the same time as meeting other urgent needs.
§ Sir B. JannerWill the Minister consider doing something about preserving at a reasonable figure the rentals of those houses which are vacated, in consequence of redundancy? Does he realise that as soon as a house becomes vacant, in consequence of his nefarious Act the house itelf is no longer let or is let at an exorbitant rent but in most cases is sold at a very high profit, with the result that there is a scarcity of these houses? What 214 will the Minister do about providing houses at a reasonable rent?
§ Sir K. JosephWhat we will do about providing houses at a reasonable rent has just been announced in the Government's White Paper. As to the effect of reimposing rent control, it is clear on all the evidence, and particularly from Professor Donnison's pamphlet, that rent control leads to nearly all houses which are vacated being sold, whereas if they are taken out of rent control a large part of them will be let.
§ Mr. Frank AllaunDoes the Minister realise that miners, shipbuilders, railway-men and others who become redundant have to move out of a controlled house into a decontrolled house at roughly treble their previous rent? Does he realise that the Rent Act, far from being a dead issue, will become a very live issue at the next General Election?
§ Sir K. JosephWhat the hon. Member will not understand is that if we were to reimpose rent control, the vacated houses to which those people now have a chance to go would not be available for letting at all, but would be sold.