HC Deb 23 October 1968 vol 770 cc1264-6
20. Mr. Galbraith

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many of the storm-damaged houses in Glasgow have now been repaired; how many still remain to be repaired; and how long he estimates it will take to complete the repair work.

29. Mr. Wright

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland why, in view of the good summer season for outdoor building and repairs, little progress has been made in Glasgow with house repairs to remedy the effects of the storm of January 1968.

Dr. Dickson Mabon

Of the 29,000 roofs which were damaged, 16,500 have had full repairs, and 8,500 roofs of council houses have had repairs fully adequate for the winter. Some 4,000 tenement roofs have had only temporary repairs, and Glasgow Corporation is doing all it can to ensure that these are dealt with as quickly as possible, although it cannot assess how long the work will take.

Many repairs have been difficult to carry out because they have involved dealing with the effects of years of neglect.

Mr. Galbraith

Is it not shocking that nine months after the hurricane this vast amount of repair should still require to be done? What has happened to the hon. Gentleman's May forecast that all houses would be wind- and waterproof by the end of September and the further forecast which he made at the end of September that they would all be waterproof by the beginning of the New Year? When will they be wind- and waterproof? Will he cut the cackle, and get on with the job?

Dr. Mabon

Fortunately, the hon. Gentleman and I are not responsible for repairing roofs. It is a very difficult task, one calling for skilled men, of whom 11—two only recently—have lost their lives. It is, therefore, no laughing matter. The dilapidation of many of the storm-damaged roofs has been such that repairing only the storm damage was just not good enough. We are doing our best to keep those houses wind- and watertight until we can carry out the permanent repairs, when the city of Glasgow will be better roofed than it has been for 50 years.

Mr. Wright

Does the Minister realise the concern his statement will occasion in Glasgow? How many of these 4,000 roofs are covered by tarpaulins? Will he resume his efforts to persuade employers of private building labour to put all their spare workers into the Corporation pool to work on this before the winter rains start?

Dr. Mabon

The hon. Gentleman will be able to learn the numbers if he asks that question at the headquarters in Glas- gow. The Government's contribution in this very difficult situation has been substantial. The available labour force for which the original target was 1,000, is now well over 1,500.

Mr. Noble

Is the Minister of State aware that I was in Glasgow yesterday studying this problem? Although I am prepared to agree with him that much has been done in the last month or two, yesterday the people at the storm damage centre told me that in their estimation over 100,000 people are still at risk from having water through their damaged doofs. Is the hon. Gentleman satisfied with this? Is he certain that nothing else can be done? If he is, I will have a chat with him afterwards.

Dr. Mabon

I am aware that the right hon. Gentleman visited Glasgow yesterday. I shall be very happy to have a chat with him or, indeed, with any other Member, either later today or at any other time, to see if we have missed any points which could profitably be pursued. Last Friday the Lord Provost pointed out that the number of complaints about leaking roofs was substantially less than might have been expected before the storm occurred. The dilapidation of property in Glasgow has been going on for many years.

Mr. Rankin

Is my hon. Friend aware that the problem was there before the storm and that the right hon. Member for Argyll (Mr. Noble) was too late in going to look at it?

Dr. Mabon

About 700 of the 900 complaints which were made at the time of the last heavy rainfall in Glasgow concerned separate properties. The rest were duplicate complaints. Of that number more than half were being dealt with under the private factors' arrangements with small firms. We hope to be able to take that up later on when we proceed with the matter further.