§ Mr. Leonardasked the Lord Privy Seal whether he will state the conditions, structural or otherwise, to be complied with by local authorities to qualify for grant for air-raid shelters below tenement property?
§ Sir J. AndersonI am not sure what type of case the hon. Member has in mind. There is a wide variety of types of tenement buildings, and the methods of providing air-raid shelter will necessarily vary according to the type of the building. The minimum standard of structural protection necessary in order to qualify for Government grant is, however, broadly the same in all cases, namely a standard designed to afford reasonable protection against blast, splinter and the fall of debris. Expenditure by local authorities under approved schemes of shelter provision for the occupants of working-class tenements will attract grant at the normal rates. In addition materials are provided free for certain types of work such as the strutting of basements and the construction of steel concrete and brick shelters of standard patterns.