HC Deb 25 January 1967 vol 739 cc1468-9
35. Mr. Ridsdale

asked the Minister of Transport, if she will give a general direction, in the public interest, to the British Railways Board not to sell houses owned by them privately, without advertising, without public auction, and without being made available to other persons.

Mr. John Morris

No, Sir.

Mr. Ridsdale

Will the Parliamentary Secretary say why 74 houses were sold privately at Parkeston without being advertised or put up to public auction, and without being offered to existing tenants? Has the Minister looked into this and seen who the buyer was and how much was paid for the houses?

Mr. Morris

That is a matter for management, but the Board's practice is to offer single houses or pairs of houses to sitting tenants, and blocks of houses to local authorities first. I understand that the hon. Gentleman has been in substantial correspondence with the Railways Board on that case.

Mr. Wilkins

Is my hon. Friend aware of the intense feeling engendered among railway employees who occupy railway properties at their houses being sold over their heads to private speculators? Is he aware that I hold in my hand the voluminous correspondence I have had with him, dating back to last January, which includes a letter from estate agents and valuers offering to sell railway houses to employees before they had actually bought them? This is a shocking scandal and it should have been stopped.

Mr. Morris

I am well aware of the problem, and my right hon. Friend and I have looked into the matter generally very thoroughly over some months. I want to stress that this is a matter for management. British Railways give first offer of houses to individual tenants. The difficulty arises where not single houses but blocks of houses are available. Those are offered in the first instance not to tenants but to local authorities, because there is difficulty if only some houses are sold in a block and some remain. That causes great management difficulties.

Mr. Ridsdale

In view of the unsatisfactory nature of the reply, I beg to give notice that I shall seek to raise this matter at the earliest possible moment on the Adjournment.