§ 108. Mr. Thurtleasked the Minister of Works if he is aware that, during the 1O-week period from 1st February to 12th 215W April, the borough of Shoreditch issued civil building licences for 26 per cent. of the total value of licences for work within its boundaries, the majority of which were in connection with housing; whereas his Department issued licences in the same period for the remaining 74 per cent., these being for commercial work; and if, as this liberal granting of licences for commercial work is gravely handicapping re-housing progress in an area where the need for this is desperate, he will, in future, consult the local authority before issuing further licences.
§ Mr. KeyFigures for the months of February and March show that the building licences issued on my behalf by the Borough of Shoreditch amounted to 33 per cent. and those issued by my Department to 67 per cent. of the total value of the licences for this area. When account is also taken of the housing work carried out by the local authority direct which does not require a licence, I am advised that more men were employed on housing than on non-housing work. I cannot agree that licences have been issued too freely or that it is necessary to consult local authorities in every case.
§ 109. Edward Daviesasked the Minister of Works how many cases of infringement of building licence regulations have been discovered during the last three months; how many taken to court and fines or convictions imposed; and what percentage were instituted by local authorities.
§ Mr. KeyIn the three months ended 31st March, 1947, 4,054 cases of possible infringement were brought to notice, 52 cases were taken to court and there were convictions in 48 cases. Within these totals the figures for local authorities were 667, 3 and 2, respectively, but local authorities did not begin to undertake prosecutions until February and the figures for the March quarter give no indication of the effect of that change.