§ Mrs. Renée Shortasked the Secretary of State for the Environment what proposals he has for the repair of Smith houses; and if, in view of the unforeseen costs of the repairs proposed, he will consider a substantial increase of the basic £20,000 allocated for each house.
§ Mr. TraceyUnder the housing defects legislation it is for the local authority, rather than the Secretary of State to specify the reinstatement works needed in any particular case. However, I understand that PRC Homes Ltd, the subsidiary company set up by the National House Building Council to appraise repair methods, is at present examining a system for reinstating Smith houses, and that it expects to receive details of a further system shortly. We have no reason to believe that the recently revised expenditure limit of £20,000 for Smith houses will prove inadequate.