§ Sir W. Smithersasked the Minister of Health if he will allow small builders in country towns and villages to undertake bomb damage and other urgent repairs by using their existing labour, stocks and utilisable material from damaged buildings without filling up forms for licences and permits.
§ Mr. BevanWar damage and other repairs can already be carried out by private builders without licence where the cost does not exceed £10. I am not prepared to recommend any extension of this limit at the present time in view of the imperative need to conserve building resources for essential work, which of course includes necessary war damage repairs to houses. A builder who has labour or materials available may use them without any special authorisation so long as a building licence, if required, has been obtained, with the exception that timber and large quantities of cast-iron116W and steel remain controlled and cannot be used without a permit.