§ 21. Mr. Loveysasked the Minister of Housing and Local Government whether he will seek powers to ensure that Regular Service men seeking council houses shall be exempt from the residential qualifications which are often required by local authorities before names are accepted on a housing list.
§ Mr. MellishMy right hon. Friend will shortly be sending to local authorities a circular giving them his views on their obligations towards the housing needs of Service men, and he would prefer to see what response is made to this before considering the need for legislation.
§ Mr. LoveysI thank the hon. Gentleman for that helpful reply. Will the recommendation state that strict residential qualifications cause hardship, anomalies and unfairness in the allocation of houses?
§ Mr. MellishYes. I think that the hon. Gentleman is on a very important point here. Many local authorities give no credence at all to the difficulties of a man coming out of the Armed Forces. It is time that they did so and we shall do all we can to induce them to recognise that these men deserve better.
§ Mr. Boyd-CarpenterWill the circular point out that residential and other qualifications, whatever their merits in other directions, are quite inapplicable in relation to service in the Armed Forces?
§ Mr. MellishYes. I would add that this is not the first time the local authorities have been asked to give this matter consideration. If we do not get results from this final appeal, we shall consider what is to be done.
§ Mr. EnglishIs my hon. Friend aware that this problem involves people other than Service men? It also applies to people employed abroad who wish to return home, and to others who cannot have residential qualifications.
§ Mr. MellishBut where a man has given 20 years' service or more to the Forces of the Crown it is said that, when he comes out, he should be told that he cannot be put on the housing list because he has no residential qualifications.