§ 58. Mr. Popplewellasked the Minister of Transport if he will give a general direction, in the public interest, to the Railways Board that when it decides to dispose of any its houses it should give the tenant the opportunity to purchase before offering it for sale to any other body.
§ Mr. MarplesNo. The Board is subject to the normal legislation governing relations between landlords and tenants and it would not be appropriate to impose other restrictions of this nature upon it. I understand that wherever possible it first offers all surplus houses to its tenants occupying individual dwellings. However, this procedure is not always practicable in the case of blocks of dwellings, especially where local housing authorities have shown an interest.