§ 58. Mr. Turtonasked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs whether he is satisfied that he has accurate and up-to- date information on the number of one- and two-bedroomed dwellings in this country, the proportion of these that are occupied by persons of pension age, and the present and prospective demand for such dwellings: and whether he will request housing authorities to provide him with this information.
§ Mr. H. BrookeThe number of one-and two-bedroomed dwellings built by local authorities since the war is contained in the quarterly Housing Returns presented to Parliament. Most one-and many two-bedroomed dwellings are known to be let to elderly people.
Comparable figures of private accommodation are not available but, according to the census there were, in all, close on two million dwellings of one to three rooms in 1951. This figure will be brought up-to-date in 1961.
Three out of every five houses and flats now being built by local authorities are of a one- or two-bedroomed type. There is no doubt from this that housing authorities generally are now keenly alive to the needs of old people, and I do not think it would assist them to greater efforts if I were to ask them to undertake the extensive and detailed surveys which would be required to collect all the information suggested.