Mr. T. THOMSONasked the Minister of Health whether his Ministry has intimated to any local authority that there is no need for it to secure the Minister's sanction as to the maximum density of houses qualified to receive State assistance under the Housing, Etc., Act, 1923; and, if so, whether this policy is to be continued in the future in view of the provisions of Sub-section (1) of Section two of the Housing, Etc., Act, 1923?
§ Mr. WHEATLEYLocal authorities, generally, have been notified that they will not be required to submit for approval details of their housing schemes under the Act of 1923. In a circular issued in August last they were informed that it was not proposed to prescribe a maximum density, and that it was considered that a discretion might properly be exercised by them in this matter in view of the particular circumstances of their district. The opinion was expressed, however, that a density of approximately 12 houses to1044W the acre represented a desirable standard, and that, as a general rule, a local authority should not approve the building of more than 20 houses on any one acre. It is not my intention to modify this policy.