§ 11. Mr. Ogdenasked the Minister of Housing and Local Government if he will make an official visit to Liverpool.
§ Mr. Peter WalkerI hope to visit many housing authorities with serious housing problems in due course. Prior to becoming the Minister I made several visits to Liverpool and visited a number of the areas with housing problems. I hope to make further visits in the future.
§ Mr. OgdenI thank the right hon. Gentleman for visiting Liverpool, because it helped tremendously to increase my majority, but can he give an assurance that he will continue the policy of his predecessor and that Liverpool will remain an area of special need? Will he continue the policy of his predecessor, so that when Liverpool asks for permission to build houses it will be given that permission and a chance to show what it can do?
§ Mr. WalkerI have no intention of stopping Liverpool from proceeding as 1345 fast as possible with its housing programme.
§ Mr. CrawshawDoes the right hon. Gentleman recall visiting Liverpool and discussing its housing problems with the Tory Council? Does he subscribe to the view that in the next two or three years there will be a surplus of 10,000 houses in Liverpool? Will that be because the Tories will have raised the rents to such an extent that people will take their names off the housing register?
§ Mr. WalkerI mainly visited the Snap project and I particularly discussed the two improvement areas which the Liverpool Council has set up, both of which are progressing, but obviously with a city with such a housing problem as Liverpool I shall keep in close contact with the local authority.