§ Mr. NAYLORasked the Minister of Health whether his Department makes a practice of sending inspectors to areas where slum property and overcrowding is known to exist; what is the nature and extent of such inspection; whether recommendations arc ever made to the responsible local authorities; and whether the Metropolitan Borough of Southwark has recently been included in the areas to which visits have been paid and reported upon?
§ Mr. NEVILLE CHAMBERLAINThe local authority have the responsibility for1984W the inspection of their district which is specifically made their duty under the Housings Acts. If an area is represented as unhealthy and a scheme is made for the improvement of the area it devolves upon me, as Minister of Health, to hear objections, and to give a decision. In these circumstances it would be undesirable for recommendations to be made to the local authority by my Department, or for a case to be prejudged before the hearing of objections, though I am always glad to arrange for an inspector to confer with a local authority, at their request with regard to a particular area. In London unhealthy areas are inspected by the London County Council, as well as the borough council, and areas are scheduled by the county council in the order of their urgency.