§ Mr. Reevesasked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs (1) whether he is aware that some requisitioned dwellings are remaining vacant for considerable periods, the great majority being those which form part only of a requisitioned house and were not constituted as separate dwellings before requisitioning, and that the main reasons for such vacancy are that under Section 8 (2) of the Requisitioned Houses and Housing (Amendment) Act, 1955, they cannot be released without the owners' consent and that his Department insists that they can only be re-let to licensees of other requisitioned dwellings to enable the other dwellings to be released in lieu; and what action he proposes to take to rectify this anomaly;
(2) what is the total number of units of accommodation, which form part only of a requisitioned house and were not constituted as separate dwellings before being requisitioned, and which are at present being held vacant because of the restrictions imposed by Section 8 (2) of the Requisitioned Houses and Housing (Amendment) Act, 1955, and by his Department's conditions of re-letting, in London and in the remainder of the country, respectively; and whether he is satisfied that the resultant waste of housing accommodation is unavoidable bearing in mind the great shortage of accommodation, particularly in the London area;
(3) what is his estimate of the total amount of money that has been expended by way of compensation rent to owners of vacant dwellings, which form part only of a requisitioned house and were not constituted as separate dwellings before being requisitioned, since the Act came into force on 6th May, 1955; and if he is satisfied that the consequent expenditure of public funds was unavoidable.
§ Mr. H. BrookeThe purpose of the Requisitioned Houses and Housing (Amendment) Act, 1955, is to enable the use of requisitioned properties for housing purposes to be brought to an end by 31st March, 1960, and now that less than two years remain for this task to be accomplished it is increasingly necessary36W for local authorities to press on vigorously with the work of derequisitioning. This aim will however be frustrated if authorities are permitted to use requisitioned properties as if they were part of their pool of permanent accommodation, and to move in other families as dwellings become empty. That is why as a general rule I am not prepared to authorise the re-use of vacant units, other than for the purpose of transferring families from other requisitioned dwellings which will in consequence be released. I am aware that parts of requisitioned houses can remain empty unless the owners are willing to accept release of the parts only. But the remedy is in the hands of the local authority concerned. If they cannot re-use the vacant parts in the way I have indicated, they should take steps to secure the permanent rehousing of families in the occupied parts, so that the whole property can be released. In this way, they can both save public expenditure and set more acommodation free. I have no information on which to base estimates either of the number of empty part-properties or of the total amount of rental compensation paid in respect of them.