Mr. MALONEasked the Minister of Health whether he is aware that the Land Commission prior to 1914 reported that one-tenth of the population was living in habitations unfit for human beings, and that a further one-tenth was living in overcrowded slum dwellings, and that this state of affairs was made considerably worse by the lack of building operations during the War; and what does his Department now estimate to be the percentage of the population of England, Scotland, and Wales who are living in habitations unfit for human beings?
§ Sir A. MONDThe figure referred to in the first part of the question was, of course, only an estimate by an unofficial committee. The surveys made by local authorities in 1919 indicated that the population in unfit houses and houses in unhealthy areas was about 3.7 per cent, of the total. Pending receipt of comparable figures as a result of the Census of 1921, I can make no statement as to the present position.