§ 35. Lady Tweedsmuirasked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he intends to introduce legislation on leasehold reform in Scotland during the present Parliament.
§ Mr. RossI have nothing at present to add to the statement on this subject made by my right hon. Friend the Minister of Housing and Local Government on 8th December.
§ Lady TweedsmuirIs the right hon. Gentleman aware that that is exactly why I have tabled this Question, because his right hon. Friend said that the interests of Scotland would be borne in mind when he was framing legislation for England and Wales? That seemed to me to imply that the Secretary of State for Scotland had got some proposals in mind? Perhaps the right hon. Gentleman would tell us whether he has, perhaps, a study on this subject.
§ Mr. RossI can assure the hon. Lady that I am not at present aware of any anxieties about this in Scotland. As she will be aware, we in Scotland pioneered legislation in this field. In 1954 we allotted five years for enfranchisement of long leases in Scotland. At that time we under-estimated the number of people affected. [HoN. MEMBERS: "We?"] I was a member of the Long Leases Committee, so I hope that hon. Members opposite will allow me to say "we". We discovered that there were far more people subject to leases in Scotland than anyone had imagined and we covered ourselves in respect of this. If we discover that we need legislation, we shall take the opportunity of legislation when it is going through the House.