§ Mr. Dobbieasked the Minister of Health whether his attention has been called to the exorbitant charges made by many landladies to soldiers' wives for apartments in districts where the Armed Forces are stationed and where serving men are desirous of their families being near them; and will he take action, in conjunction with other Ministers, to mitigate this evil of profiteering and exploitation?
§ Miss Horsbrugh:In a recent circular to local authorities, of which I am sending my hon. Friend a copy, my right hon. Friend pointed out that allegations of excessive rents were being received; referred to successful action taken by some local authorities; and stated that he was not satisfied that all of them had been equally active in taking prompt steps against offenders in their districts. Also, he urged local authorities to take legal proceedings in every case in which they considered the circumstances to warrant it, and asked to be informed of the results. Valuable assistance was received from the Press, which gave the circular wide publicity. As. regards the second part of the Question my right hon. Friend has made arrangements with his colleagues who are specially interested, whereby their welfare officers will bring all complaints they receive to the notice of his Department, so that immediate investigations may be made. As he has stated on previous occasions my right hon. Friend will be glad to have details of any case brought to the notice of any Members of this House, so that he may take similar action.