§ Q2. Mr. Horamasked the Prime Minister if he is satisfied with co-operation between the Departments of the Environment and Employment in phase 3 policies.
§ The Prime MinisterYes, Sir.
§ Mr. HoramIs the Prime Minister aware that a single pensioner is faced with a demand for an increase in her fair rent of 70 per cent., and because she has a certain amount of money put aside there is no chance of a rebate? Why is there no provision in phase 3 for any staging of such huge private sector rent increases? Does not this omission, coupled with the Prime Minister's failure to do anything about mortgages, mean that there is a gaping hole in his counter-inflation policy in respect of the rising cost of housing?
§ The Prime MinisterI do not accept that. In stage 3, as far as the working population is concerned, there is a cost of living safeguard at 7 per cent. If the hon. Gentleman will let me have details of a case in which a pensioner is having 800 her rent put up and has no means of dealing with it, either through a rebate or through supplementary pension, I shall gladly have it investigated.
§ Mr. PardoeDoes the Prime Minister recognise that the best way to bring down the price of all housing, rented and bought, is to build more houses? Does he recognise that the Government will this year, if they are lucky, build only 300,000 houses, which is less than we were building before the last war?
§ The Prime MinisterI agree absolutely with what the hon. Gentleman says about the best way of dealing with the situation, which is for more houses to be built. If one outs with it the improvements that are being carried out through the improvement grants, the Government's housing record is a very substantial one.
§ Mr. Harold WilsonBut the houses are not being built, are they? Since this Question refers to the Department of the Environment, which is responsible for land, may I ask the right hon. Gentleman whether he has seen reports in the Press today that the properties of one property company which have been revalued have risen in value since March, during stage 2 alone, by 27 per cent., amounting to an additional several hundreds of millions of pounds? Can the Prime Minister reconcile that with everything else that has happened in stage 2? Is he aware that according to Press reports the major factor in this revaluation over six months is due to the Government's decontrol of office rents in their proposals for stage 3?
§ The Prime MinisterI shall certainly look into the question of the various cases which the right hon. Gentleman mentions. Of course, when there has been an increase in the value of property and revaluation takes place, the total sum involved is greater, but that applies equally to those who own their individual houses.