§ Mr. W. THORNEasked the Minister of Health if the Nottingham Corporation have received tenders for building a number of houses of the non-parlour type at a cost of £350 per house, which includes the cost of land and making of roads, and which contain a living room, scullery, three bedrooms, in excess of the Government standard, and a bath room, lavatory, and coal house; whether he will give encouragement to the various local authorities in the different parts of the. country to build houses of a similar type at the same cost; and whether the Government would be prepared to advise the Loans Commissioner to advance money for such a purpose at the lowest possible rate of interest?
§ Sir A. MONDI am gratified to note that the Nottingham Corporation have succeeded in obtaining tenders at the figure mentioned, and I am not un- 253W hopeful that still lower prices will be obtained. I shall be happy to entertain proposals from local authorities for building houses at low cost on their own responsibility, and where a local authority is unable to raise the necessary loans from other sources I will consider the question of recommending advances by the Public Works Loan Commissioners.