§ 8. Mr. E. Rowlandsasked the Secretary of State for Wales how many houses in tender have been approved by his Department to the latest convenient date this year; how this compares with the corresponding period last year; and how the estimate for 1966 compares with last year.
§ Mr. Ifor DaviesUp to 16th July, 4.604 public sector houses have been approved compared with 6,304 in the same period of last year. But a number of very large schemes are on the point of being approved and my right hon. Friends expects the total for 1966 to exceed that for 1965.
§ Mr. RowlandsDoes my hon. Friend consider the target for this year to be sufficient for Wales? Wales not only has a lot of old property, but needs more houses for workers coming in because of new office development and industry.
§ Mr. DaviesThe initial estimate for the number of houses in the public sector under construction at the end of June was 13,553, compared with 12,287 in the same period last year.
§ 9. Mr. E. Rowlandsasked the Secretary of State for Wales how many housing 845 loans have been granted by local authorities in Wales this year; what is the total amount; and whether he will extend the categories of applicants for loans in order to stimulate the sale of houses generally.
§ Mr. Ifor DaviesDuring the first four months 822 loans, totalling £1,272,000, were granted. My right hon. Friend is ready to consider any representations that authorities may wish to make about the categories of persons who may apply for loans.
§ Mr. RowlandsWill my hon. Friend consider extending the category of applicants to those who wish to buy houses built between the wars, which is excluded at the moment?
§ Mr. DaviesMy right hon. Friend will be pleased to give every assistance in this matter, and paragraph 4 of Circular 16 of 1966 gives an assurance that special circumstances will be considered.