§ Mr. Worsleyasked the Secretary of State for the Environment when he hopes to be able to announce his proposals for dealing with the problems of areas of older housing and housing stress which were promised in the April White Paper "Widening the Choice: the next steps in Housing", Command Paper No. 5280.
§ Mr. RipponThe Government's proposals are contained in the White Paper "Better Homes—The Next Priorities" (Cmnd. 5339) which I have today laid before Parliament.
The proposals follow a comprehensive review of policy on older housing. This review confirmed the substantial progress now being made generally throughout the country in clearing slums and improving sub-standard dwellings. It also indicated that the remaining problems associated with inadequate housing are increasingly concentrated in the inner areas of certain cities, especially London, 293W and in the older industrial towns of northern England and Wales. The central purpose of the measures now proposed by the Government is to build on recent achievements—especially the dramatic results of the housing improvement policy—in dealing with the evil of bad housing but to do so in ways that henceforth concentrate help selectively on people in greatest need.
The Government will begin consultations with the local authorities and others on its proposals as soon as possible.