HC Deb 18 November 1969 vol 791 cc1084-6
1. Mr. Tilney

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government what study he has made of the extent to which the occupancy of poor housing correlates with low competence in literate and linguistic communication; and what steps he proposes to take to raise the standards of literate and oral communication.

The Joint Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Housing and Local Government (Mr. Reginald Freeson)

There have been several inquiries into the social aspects of housing need and into environmental influences on education. The question of educational standards is rather for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Education and Science.

Mr. Tilney

Has the Minister seen the article in today's Daily Telegraph under the heading, Illiterate London, which ends by saying … teaching of reading …—

Mr. Speaker

Order. The hon. Gentleman cannot quote.

Mr. Tilney

The article says that the teaching of reading is in disrepair. Would the hon. Gentleman consult his right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Education and Science about literacy classes for those in community development centres which come within his purview, and will he consider the use there of the initial teaching alphabet rather than the 2,000 characters of traditional orthography for the 40 sounds of the English tongue?

Mr. Freeson

While I have respect for the hon. Gentleman's special interest in this form of alphabet teaching, I do not think that it is a question for my right hon. Friend the Minister of Housing and Local Government. We are interested in areas which have a social deprivation and its relationship to housing, and that covers a much wider area of consideration than the issue raised this afternoon.

Mr. Heffer

Is my hon. Friend aware that in the city of Liverpool there are thousands of people who are extremely literate, very good readers, and extremely capable people in an intellectual sense, but who live in lousy houses owing to past policies?

Mr. Freeson

I certainly accept that. It is our concern to do our best to ensure that local authorities as well as the private sector provide for housing need in such areas. I would take the opportunity of referring hon. Members to a very interesting section in the Labour Party's "Social Strategy", which speaks of the need for studying social priority areas.

This is very relevant to the kind of issue raised by the hon. Gentleman.