§ Mr. J. BAKERasked the Minister of Health how much of the money allocated for the erection of specimen houses has been spent or promised; whether applications are still being considered from local authorities who desire to take advantage of the special subsidy; in what towns the various types of houses have been erected; whether they are occupied; and what has been the total amount of subsidy paid in respect of each of the Beardmore, Weir, 2426W Atholl, Steelcon, Wild, Tilson, and any other similar type of house in which steel is used in the construction?
Mr. CHAMBERLAINThe special subsidy of £200 per house is available only for a limited number of houses of the types specially recommended for demonstration purposes by the Committee on New Methods of House Construction. So far four types have been so re-commended, namely, the Weir, Atholl, Telford, and Wild types. Of the total of £50,000 voted for the purpose of these grants, £34,000 has been provisionally allocated, made up of £10,000 for each of the Weir, Atholl, and Telford types, and £4,000 for the Wild type, but no actual payments of subsidy for these experimental houses have yet been made. Over 50 local authorities are taking part in the experiment. Four of these already have houses completed and open for inspection, and in six other districts the houses are at present under construction. If for any reason any of the selected local authorities should be unwilling to proceed with the experiment, the houses will be offered to other local authorities.