HC Deb 14 July 1970 vol 803 cc1340-1
8. Mrs. Renée Short

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government why he issued the circular to local authorities removing restrictions on the sale of council houses.

Mr. Peter Walker

To encourage the spread of home ownership and to increase the opportunities for tenants of council houses to own the houses in which they live.

Mrs. Short

But if the Minister has just awakened to the fact that thousands of families, white and coloured, and their children are living in grossly overcrowded conditions in many of our towns and cities, apart from London, does he realise that by sending out this circular to local authorities he is reducing the pool of houses to let? What we need is more houses. Will he get on with this?

Mr. Walker

I believe that those people in bad housing conditions and on housing waiting lists will benefit more from what is being done as a result of this circular than by waiting for existing tenants to vacate their homes.

Mr. Crawshaw

Will the right hon. Gentleman bear in mind that in Liverpool about 10 per cent. of the people are rehoused each year in corporation houses which become empty during that year, and that his policy, taken to its logical conclusion, would mean that all houses would be sold, which would remove the opportunity for that 10 per cent.? While there may be a case for this policy in those areas where there is no shortage, or no great shortage, surely this is a detrimental step for the Minister to take in respect of Liverpool?

Mr. Walker

I do not think that the large number of people living in council houses should be deprived of the opportunity of buying their own homes, which I wish to encourage them to do. It was made perfectly clear in my circular that resources released as a result of this policy should be used to help those people on the housing list.

Mr. Tom Boardman

Is my right hon. Friend aware that many hundreds of council tenants in my constituency welcome his decision?

Mr. Walker

Yes.

Mr. Denis Howell

Is not the right hon. Gentleman aware that the most difficult social cases to rehouse are the very people in need of old council houses with cheaper rents? How, therefore, will this policy help? Can the Minister give any estimate of the cost of replacing the older houses that he is selling by new houses in our big cities?

Mr. Walker

Houses will be sold within a fixed margin of the market price and not the original cost price. In my view this will release resources which will help those people still on the housing list.