§ Mr. SNOWDENasked the Secretary to the Admiralty if the Admiralty is giving any financial assistance from public funds to a housing scheme at Partick, Glasgow; if so, to what extent; and will he say in whom the ownership of these houses will 2313W vest, and what obstacles there are, if any, to this scheme being undertaken by the local authorities?
§ Dr. MACNAMARAI have no information as to financial assistance having been given to a housing scheme at Partick, Glasgow. Perhaps my hon. Friend will give me further particulars.
But I must inform my hon. Friend that we have already given financial assistance to housing schemes, promoted both by local authorities and by companies engaged on war work, to house the additional employés whose presence in the locality is rendered necessary by the result of war conditions. As regards ultimate ownership, in all these schemes we have endeavoured, as far as possible, to secure to the public interest considerations in respect of the financial assistance rendered.
As regards the local authorities, while, of course, I should not presume to pass any comment upon their attitude in this matter, it must be remembered that there is, particularly with building costs what they are to-day, a natural disinclination to burden local rates with the cost of erecting permanent dwelling-places for a population which may only be transitory. In any such well-established case we must I think endeavour to meet the local authority as far as we can.