§ Mr. Spearingasked the Minister of Overseas Development what is the policy of his Department in respect of "site and service" schemes in urban areas; and what conclusions have been drawn from those schemes that have been longest established.
§ Mr. PrenticeAs the White Paper "The Changing Emphasis in British Aid Policies—More Help for the Poorest" (Cmnd. 6270, Chapter V, paragraphs 141W 14 to 20) indicates, the housing needs of the poorest sections of the community, particularly in urban areas, are immense. My Ministry does not consider that conventional low-cost housing schemes are the answer. We believe that our aid in this sector should be focused on "site and service" schemes which encourage the maximum amount of self-help from the participants.
From the experience gained so far from existing schemes it is clear that this concept is one of great potential which, as does the World Bank, we believe is the proper approach for meeting the problems of lowest-cost housing. Care has, however, to be taken to avoid costly infrastructure and inflexible building specifications if the poorest sections of the urban community are to benefit.
At the United Nations Conference on Human Settlements just concluded at Vancouver—Habitat '76—the United Kingdom supported proposals made regarding the site and service approach to low cost housing intended to meet the needs mainly of rural /urban migrants, and providing planned, legal settlement instead of that which has so often in the past been both unplanned and unlawful.