§ Colonel PERKINSasked the Minister of Health whether, in regard to the letting of council houses, he has issued any advice to local authorities as to the preference to be given to applicants with families and also to those living in condemned property in slum areas; and, if not, whether he will consider the advisability of taking action on these lines?
Mr. CHAMBERLAINIt is a condition of the grant of subsidy under the Housing (Financial Provisions) Act, 1924, that reasonable preference shall be given to large families in letting the houses, and the attention of local authorities has been drawn to this provision, which gave statutory sanction to the general practice previously obtaining. I do not think it desirable to restrict further the discretionary powers of local authorities in regard to the control and management of houses erected under the Housing Acts. As regards persons living in condemned houses in slum areas, I require, in connection with a scheme for the improvement of a slum area, that before any persons are displaced such numbers of houses should be provided as would accommodate the number of persons displaced.