§ Mr. Barnesasked the Home Secretary whether, in view of the haphazard methods of providing air-raid shelters being adopted throughout London, he has had any further expert inquiry made into the problem of deep bomb-proof shelters; and, if so, could he publish their findings?
§ Sir J. AndersonNo, Sir. This problem was fully investigated by the Conference under the chairmanship of Lord Hailey, whose report was submitted in April last and was accepted by the Government.
§ Captain Pluggeasked the Home Secretary whether it has been brought to his notice that free garden air-raid shelters are being given away by residents who do not want them; and what action is being taken in such cases?
§ Sir J. AndersonI understand that there have been a few cases where householders have appropriated a shelter which did not appear to be wanted where it was, no doubt in some cases with the consent of the other householder. A householder has, of course, no right to do this even with the consent of the other householder, since by Section 25 of the Civil Defence Act shelters may not be removed without the consent of the local authority; but I have suggested to local authorities who have consulted me that where, as a result of such action, an unwanted shelter has been put to its proper use by a person falling within the categories of persons to whom these shelters are being distributed, the right thing may be to give consent to the removal