§ 11. Mr. Gwilym Robertsasked the Minister of Housing and Local Government what evidence he has as to the success of local authority experiments in providing lists of houses for sale; and what steps he is taking to encourage the extension of this service.
§ Mr. MellishAs soon as the seven local authorities taking part in the experiment have had sufficient experience of keeping a register for this purpose, a meeting will be held to assess the value of such a service.
§ Mr. RobertsIn view of the need, will the Minister give the green light to all local authorities to go ahead and provide facilities for buying and selling houses? Is he aware that home seekers and sellers in Britain are fed up with being fleeced by parasitic estate agents?
§ Mr. MellishThe scheme has been under way for only a short time. We should wait and see what we have learnt from this very important experiment, in which seven important local authorities are taking part. I understand that the meeting to which I referred in my Answer will be held early next year.
§ Mr. RipponWill the Parliamentary Secretary consider extending the experiment to lists of council houses for sale, in view of the great success of this scheme in Birmingham?
§ Mr. MellishNo, Sir.