Allocations (Hansard, 7 December 1951)

§ Lieut. - Colonel Lipton
asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government whether he will tabulate the 1951 housing allocation and the 1952 provisional allocation to each of the metropolitan boroughs.

§ Mr. Dodds
asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government if he is aware of the concern of the Crayford Urban District Council over the reduced housing allocation for 1952 as compared with 1951; and, in view of the general expectation of a larger allocation, if he will receive a deputation from the Crayford Urban District Council as a matter of public interest and urgency.

Mr. C. I. Orr-Ewing
asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government on what basis housing allocations have been made to local authorities for 1952.

§ Mr. H. Macmillan
The practice has been for housing allocations to local authorities to be based within a total national programme on the relative need of each local area for houses and the local capacity to build them. Regard is also had to the number of houses left over, for one reason or another, from last year's allocation.
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Principal regional officers normally inform local authorities of their allocations in October and November—in advance of the building year—so that local authorities may have time to plan their programmes ahead, Some local authorities received their allocations for 1952 before the General Election. Allocations issued after the Election were described as provisional; as indeed all allocations for 1952 must now be regarded. Comparison, therefore, between the allocations for previous years and the provisional allocation for 1952 would be entirely misleading.
Programming under the previous Government was aimed at the completion of 200,000 houses in 1952 in Great Britain. The Government are now reviewing the whole building programme and the possibility of increasing supplies of building materials. Their aim is to expand the housing programme until a total of 300,000 houses a year is achieved. As part of this policy of expansion further allocations will be made to local authorities from time to time as they make progress.