§ Mr. Toucheasked the Minister of Works the number of houses now under requisition for Government Departments in the Reigate and Dorking districts, respectively; the number of such houses which are now empty; and the number of houses which are to be derequisitioned in the near future.
§ Mr. TomlinsonExcluding houses held by or on behalf of the Ministry of Health for accommodating homeless or inadequately-housed persons, there are in the Reigate district 54 houses requisitioned by Government Departments. Of these, 15 are now empty and Departments expect to release 14 in the near future. In the Dorking district there are 23 houses requisitioned by Government Departments. Of these, seven are now empty and it is expected that nine will be released shortly.
§ Captain Swinglerasked the Minister of Health what arrangements he is making to secure the use of all spare housing accommodation during the housing shortage.
§ Mr. BevanLocal authorities are empowered to requisition unoccupied premises suitable for housing persons in need of accommodation and approximately 77,000 premises have been requisitioned or taken by agreement for this purpose. In addition, a Defence Regulation is being made today to facilitate the letting of spare accommodation in occupied houses and I am sending a circular to local authorities, asking them to appeal to householders in their areas who may2628W have any spare rooms, to let them to persons in need. A copy of this circular is available in the Library.