HC Deb 27 July 1966 vol 732 cc1706-7
12. Mr. Doig

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will take steps to amend the Housing (Scotland) Acts in relation to overcrowding, in view of the fact that only gross overcrowding is at present eligible for rehousing priority.

Mr. Ross

At present the Housing Acts lay down only a minimum standard and any local authority is free to adopt a higher standard for rehousing purposes. I await the report of the Scottish Housing Advisory Committee on the allocation of houses, which will be relevant to this important matter.

Mr. Doig

Is my right hon. Friend aware that a kitchen and two bedrooms containing a husband, a wife, a stepdaughter aged 22, a daughter aged 7, a son aged 12, and an infant son is not considered overcrowding under these regulations, and will he take steps to draw to the attention of the local authorities the variation which there can be of these standards so that they can apply reasonable standards and give reasonable priority to houses which are overcrowded in this way?

Mr. Ross

I think my hon. Friend is under a misapprehension. There is no regulation covering this. It is covered by a part of a Schedule to the 1950 Act. This is only a minimum standard, and every local housing authority in Scotland is entitled to the discretion to change its operation as it likes. As a matter of fact, the recommended standard—in, I think it was, Circular 149 of 1944—is being applied by most authorities in Scotland, and even beyond that. If my hon. Friend would like to write to me about any particular authority giving him concern, I should be glad to hear what he has to say.