§ Mr. Peter Bruinvelsasked the Secretary of State for the Environment what consideration he gave to the state of Smith houses in East Leicester before deciding that such houses should not be designated under section 1 of the Housing Defects Act.
§ Mr. GowIn considering whether Smith houses should be designated under section 1 of the Housing Defects Act, I had advice from the Building Research Establishment based on its investigations of houses of this type in the east and west Midlands and south Wales. No house in east Leicester was included in this investigation. The Smith486W house is a standard house made of factory produced components and it was not necessary to include houses located in every constituency in order to be able to assess the present and likely future condition of Smith houses in general. My right hon. Friend did take account of evidence of the value of Smith houses in Leicester before reaching his decision.
If my hon. Friend has any evidence which he would like to submit, my right hon. Friend will of course consider it.