§ Mr. Arthur Lewisasked the Minister of Housing and Local Government whether he has received the communication from the hon. Member for West Ham, North, giving details of a means of introducing safety regulations to tower blocks at a nominal cost to offset the dangers resulting from explosions by an automatic pressure reduction and gas leakage device; whether he will examine this patent with a view to its general introduction into all tower blocks; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. MacCollMy right hon. Friend has received my hon. Friend's letter and arranged for the device to be examined.
§ Mr. Arthur Lewisasked the Minister of Housing and Local Government, in view of the fact that a 50 per cent. grant is payable by his Department to the local councils concerned towards the costs of damage done by oil slicks, whether he will now increase to 50 per cent. the grants available to local authorities who incur expenditure on strengthening tower blocks up to his recommended specifications.
§ Mr. MacCollNo. The circumstances are not comparable.
§ Mr. Arthur Lewisasked the Minister of Housing and Local Government whether he has now obtained an estimate of the cost to public funds of strengthening tower blocks.
§ Mr. MacCollI have no comprehensive total figure of cost because not all local authorities have yet decided what work is needed nor have all the proposed strengthening measures been costed.
§ Mr. Arthur Lewisasked the Minister of Housing and Local Government 241W whether, in view of the fact that in the case of the "Torrey Canyon" disaster his Department met a total of £1,671,523 of the costs as against the local authorities £66,902, he will use the same percentage basis of reimbursement for local authorities who have to expend money to strengthen tower blocks resultant from the Ronan Point disaster.
§ Mr. MacCollNo. The two cases are not comparable.