§ 7. Mr. Boydenasked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs what acreage of derelict industrial land was reclaimed by local authorities in 1960, 1961, and 1962, respectively.
§ Mr. CorfieldMy right hon. Friend is not in a position to give figures year by year, but I can say that since 1st April, 1960, when the Local Employment Act came into force some 42 acres of land have been reclaimed with the aid of grant under that Act and the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act, 1949. In addition my right hon. Friend has granted loan sanction covering the reclamation of some 220 acres more though not all of this will necessarily have been dealt with in the period.
§ Mr. BoydenWhat has happened to the 1,171 acres that the Parliamentary Secretary thought would be reclaimed by local authorities in a five-year period? Would he like to comment on the fact that that figure of just over 1,000 acres was only one-seventh of the derelict land that local authorities had in their development plans? What is he doing about this?
§ Mr. CorfieldThe hon. Member must appreciate that the initiative in these matters lies with the local authorities and that there is inevitably delay between proposals in development plans and the proposals coming forward to my right hon. Friend for loan sanction or whatever approval may be required.
§ 8. Mr. Boydenasked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs how the number of schemes completed and grants 620 paid for the reclamation of derelict land in the financial year 1960–61 under the Distribution of Industry Act, 1945, compares with the number of schemes completed and grants paid since the passing of the Local Employment Act, 1960.
§ Mr. CorfieldUnder the Distribution of Industry Act, 1945, 13 schemes were completed and grants amounting to £77,394 were paid in the financial year 1960–61. Four schemes under the Local Employment Act have been completed and grant of £470 has been paid in respect of one of them. Further grants amounting to £40,000 have been promised for schemes approved under this Act including those already completed.
§ Mr. BoydenTwo hundred and fifty acres and less than twenty schemes! Does not the hon. Gentleman consider it about time that there was a new approach to this problem in regard not only to finance and organisation but to technical methods?
§ Mr. CorfieldMy right hon. Friend has made it clear over and over again that he would welcome more schemes. He has called for a return from all local authorities in the development districts giving an estimate of the number and approximate cost of schemes that could be started in the near future. As the hon. Member knows, my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer has agreed to review the size of the grant when this information is available.
§ Mr. MacCollWill the Minister bear in mind that no matter whose fault it may be, these figures are pathetic and that the clearing of derelict industrial land in the old towns is a vital part of rehabilitating them for new industries? Will not the Minister put this at the top of the Government's economic programme?
§ Mr. CorfieldI cannot promise that the Government will put it at the top of their programme, but I assure the hon. Member and the House that my right hon. Friend is anxious to encourage local authorities to come forward with more schemes. As I have said, however, the initiative lies with them in the first place and must do so.
§ Mr. BoydenOwing to the unsatisfactory nature of the replies, I beg to give notice that I will raise the matter on the Adjournment at the earliest possible moment.
§ 15. Mr. Awberyasked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs if he is aware of the danger of accidents and to the health of children arising from sites which are left derelict and the debris lying about for long periods after the demolition of houses; and if he will introduce legislation to make it compulsory for sites to be cleared immediately when property is demolished.
§ Mr. CorfieldThere does not appear to be a need for fresh legislation. Powers are available under a number of statutes enabling local authorities to reclaim or improve the appearance of derelict land. This could include sites on which debris has been left. Local authorities also have powers under Sections 27 and 29 of the Public Health Act 1961 to require the clearance of demolition rubble in most circumstances.
§ Mr. AwberyIs the hon. Gentleman aware that this problem is not peculiar to Bristol, but is general throughout the country? After a house has been taken down, the debris is left there, rats infest the area, the place becomes an eyesore, and the property nearby loses its value. Will the Minister give instructions to local authorities that the debris must be cleared when a property is demolished?
§ Mr. CorfieldThe hon. Gentleman knows that I am also familiar with some of the problems of Bristol. Nevertheless, I do not think that this is a matter of lack of legislative power. The number of statutes and provisions in the statutes which enable local authorities to take action of this sort is very large, and, I should think, almost completely comprehensive, but if the hon. Gentleman writes to me about any particular difficulty under any particular statute, I shall look into it.
§ Mr. AwberyCould it be made compulsory and not enabling?
§ Mr. CorfieldThis is essentially a matter for the local authorities concerned.
§ Mr. Harold DaviesMay I ask whether the hon. Gentleman was given figures of accidents to children as a result of this neglect of demolished property?
§ Mr. CorfieldNo, Sir; but in any case I think that that is another question.
§ 25. Mr. Millanasked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs whether he will make 100 per cent. grants under the Local Employment Act, 1960, to local authorities who initiate schemes for the improvement of derelict land or for the improvement of basic services in response to the appeal made by Her Majesty's Government that such schemes costing up to £15,000 each should be introduced as a means of alleviating unemployment.
§ Mr. CorfieldMy right hon. Friend, with his right hon. Friends the Chief Secretary to the Treasury and the Secretary of State for Scotland, are urgently reviewing the level of grant under Section 5 of the Act for treating derelict land.
He has no proposals for altering the grant for improvement of basic services.
§ Mr. MillanWhen is the decision to be made about this? Is it not obvious from the answers given to my hon. Friend the Member for Bishop Auckland (Mr. Boyden) earlier this afternoon that local authorities are not getting ahead with the job of clearing derelict land, for the reason that they are reluctant to add further to the rate burden which so many of the Minister's hon. Friends are already complaining about?
§ Mr. CorfieldI have already told the House that my Department wrote on 15th February to the local planning authorities concerned with development districts, asking them to supply within three weeks information with regard to schemes that could be undertaken. When that information is available my right hon. Friend will consider the question of a grant.
§ Mr. W. HamiltonDoes the Minister recognise the great urgency of arriving at a quick decision in this matter? The unemployment figures in the development districts in which we are interested are getting worse and worse week by week, and an urgent decision is imperative.
§ Mr. CorfieldYes, but it cannot be alleged that three weeks is an excessive time within which to ask local authorities to provide this information.
§ Mr. RankinDoes not the Minister agree that a principle is involved here? Is it not the case that unemployment 623 is not just a local phenomenon but a national problem? In view of that fact, ought not the Government to assume liability for 100 per cent. grant?
§ Mr. CorfieldThe hon. Member must realise that the clearance of these derelict sites does not give rise to a great deal of employment, owing to modern methods of mechanisation.