§ Mr. WIGNALLasked the Minister of Health if he is aware of the rents charged for the Government houses at Bulwark and Hardwich garden villages, Chepstow; and whether, considering the distress arising from unemployment in this district and the hardship on the tenants, he will consider the question of the reduction of these rents?
§ Mr. A. V. ALEXANDERI have been asked to reply. The houses in question were sold, in 1920, under terms which provide for rents to be fixed from time to time to the reasonable satisfaction of the Board of Trade; the responsibility for fixing the rents, therefore, devolves primarily upon the purchasers. The Board are advised that the present rents are on approximately the same level as those charged for similar houses in the districts adjoining Chepstow. The purchasers have, however, been informed that in all the circumstances, if it can be shown that the rents are, in fact, higher than those charged for similar houses in Chepstow and the adjoining districts, there is no reason why the rents should not be reduced, with the concurrence of the Board.