§ Mr. Michael Lathamasked the Secretary of State for the Environment what are the terms of reference of his Action Group on London Housing and his Standing Working Party on London Housing, respectively; whether steps are taken to prevent duplication of work; and how often each met in 1973.
§ Mr. KaufmanThe terms of reference of the Action Group on London Housing, which was set up in 1971, are
to review regularly and at frequent intervals the progress of the drive to eliminate the London housing shortage, and to take any action necessary to keep up its momentum ";those of the Standing Working Party on London Housing, set up in 1965, areto consider ways and means by which central and local Government co-operate in implementing measures to deal with the problems reported by the Milner Holland Committee and generally to improve the housing situation in London and to keep under review any arrangements made for these purposes ".There is no duplication of work. Since the Action Group was set up the main 560W rôle of the Standing Working Party has been to examine, through expert subgroups, and report on questions of a specialist nature, leaving the Action Group to concentrate on the broader rôle.
The Action Group met on five occasions in 1973 and made 11 visits to London boroughs. Standing Working Party sub-Groups met on nine occasions in the same period.