asked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether it is intended to introduce legislation in the present Session to raise the maximum value of a house for the purposes of the Small Dwellings Acquisition (Scotland) Act.

Yes, Sir.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what percentage of grants under the Rural Workers Housing Act were made in Argyll between 1929 and 1939, to persons in respect of dwellings in which they themselves dwell as owners or by feu.

I am informed that the proportion is roughly 50 per cent.

How do those figures tie up with the statement that this reconditioning was done almost completely for houses tied to farms?

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he is in a position to make a statement on the findings of the Scottish Housing Advisory Committee on owner-occupied houses and sub-divided houses, respectively, and the desirability of encouraging house building from non-Governmental sources.

The Committee's report on the provision of houses for owner- occupation has been received and will be published in due course. Their report on the modernisation of houses, including houses suitable for sub-division, has not yet been submitted. The Government's policy with regard to private enterprise building was fully dealt with in the course of the Debate on 17th October.

Can the Minister say when he is likely to deal with the first two parts of the Question, in view of the urgency of the housing problem?

The hon. Gentleman has been informed that one of the Committees has not yet reported. The other Committee has reported, and I have given instructions that the report is to be printed; as soon as it is printed it will be available to hon. Members.

On a point of Order, Mr. Speaker. May I, with great respect, call your attention to the present seating arrangements on this side of the House? We are a very small Opposition—

Now is not the time to raise that matter.

What steps does the Minister propose to take to facilitate the purchase of houses in Scotland by their occupiers?

I think my hon. Friend had better wait and see the Report.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he can make any statement about the emergency houses in Lanarkshire and particularly Bellshill; and can he also give details of the cost of trying to make these houses habitable.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland, in view of the distress and inconvenience caused to the tenants of emergency houses at Westburn, Cambuslang, what steps he proposes to take to remedy this matter.

I am aware of the difficulties which have arisen in connection with these emergency houses. Various measures for improvement were undertaken last year at a cost of some £80 per house, and in the spring of this year further measures costing some £227 per house were put in hand. I am assured by my technical officers that when these further repairs have been completed the houses will be rendered reasonably satisfactory. Meantime every effort is being made to speed up the work. I have asked for a full report on the position when the work is finally completed. Claims by the tenants for rebate of rents and compensation for damage to household effects are at present being considered.

Does the Minister still persist in going ahead with houses which, in the opinion of the experts, can never be habitable?

One of my difficulties is to decide between expert and expert. My experts tell me that the houses will be rendered reasonably habitable. I thought I would try to take a balanced view between two sets of experts, and I consulted one or two of the tenants living in the houses. I must say that the balance of the argument, although not strong, is that the houses will be reasonably fit for human habitation.

Are not these houses something that we have inherited from Tory rule?

In reply to my hon. Friend, I visited Clydebank on Saturday and there, in very slight conversation, I found that the people, although not happy about them, did not describe them as unfit for habitation.

Is it intended to initiate a prosecution against the building contractors who are responsible for those houses?

I dealt with this question very fully in the Debate the other night and answered criticisms on it. If my hon. Friend wishes to raise the matter again, it would be better to do so on an occasion when it could be debated fully. It is not easy to answer questions on the subject briefly.

Is the Minister aware that his statement will give some satisfaction to the tenants of these houses who have been subject to intolerable delays by previous administrations, and will he bear in mind the urgency of the compensation question?

I agree that these people have been subject to terrible inconvenience and almost intolerable conditions. I think that in the next few weeks I shall be in a position to secure, not a final agreement, but at least a mitigation of the tenants' conditions.

Will the Minister extend his inquiries in this matter to the city of Aberdeen?

The city of Aberdeen, luckily for it, is not affected by these houses.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the number of applications made to the Glasgow Corporation for houses; the number of houses in course of erection; the number approved; and the number to be erected during each year for the next five years in the Glasgow area.

Approximately 70,000 applications for houses have been made to Glasgow Corporation. A total of 1,836 permanent houses have been approved this year and the Corporation have been allocated 2,500 temporary houses. Of these,726 permanent and 155 temporary houses are under construction. The Corporation's programme for the next five years is 5,000 permanent and 1,500 temporary houses during the first year; 7,000 permanent and 1,000 temporaries during the second year, and thereafter 10,000 permanent houses annually. In addition, the Corporation have requisitioned 518 properties, providing accommodation for 654 families.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many large houses are standing furnished but unoccupied in Edinburgh; and to what extent have the Edinburgh Corporation used their powers of requisitioning in helping to provide accommodation for this winter.

The information asked for in the first part of the Question is not available, but I am informed that the corporation are making a survey of the unoccupied houses in the city. A total of 45 properties have been requisitioned, including 37 which have been reconstructed to provide 45 separate dwellings for the inadequately housed.

In view of the extremely bad housing conditions which exist in Leith, will the Minister urge upon the corporation the necessity of taking immediate action to relieve this problem?

I cannot interfere with the normal working of the Edinburgh Town Council, but my hon. Friend may take it that nothing will be put in the way of the Council in requisitioning property, provided it is in order to house people who are at present either homeless or inadequately housed.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what financial inducements are contemplated to encourage aspirants to the teaching profession to take a university degree.

The National Joint Council to deal with Salaries of Teachers in Scotland, a body representative of education authorities and of the teaching profession, have made recommendations to my right hon. Friend regarding the salaries that should be paid to graduate and to other teachers. These recommendations are embodied in a recently published draft of Regulations which the Secretary of State proposes to make, prescribing the salaries to be paid by education authorities to teachers employed by them. I am sending the hon. Member a copy of the draft. Before making the Regulations, regard will be had to the representations on the subject that have been received from education authorities and other persons interested.

Will the Minister send a copy to other Scottish Members also?

If any hon. Member wishes to have one, I will see that he gets it.

Will my hon. Friend send me one?

Yes, Sir.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland to what extent, in the case of an education authority which, in the enforcement of school attendance, appoints its own procurator and bears the whole expenses of the prosecution, including payment of court dues, the fines re- coverable in such prosecutions are payable to the Treasury instead of, as in the past, to the authority; and if he proposes to restore the status quo.

Under the revised arrangements in the Education (Scotland) Act, 1945, all fines imposed in the Sheriff Court are payable to the Exchequer, but under the Summary Jurisdiction Act, the Sheriff may direct that the expenses incurred by the prosecutor shall be met in whole or in part out of any such fine. The answer to the second part of the Question is in the negative.

In view of the state of Business at the end of the last Parliament when this Measure was being put through, will the hon. Gentleman speak to his right hon. Friend and have consultations with the local authorities on the question of the restoration of the status quo?

All I can say is that this is now the Act and we have got to administer it. The only question is whether the Act should be altered or not by further amending legislation. When my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State returns to his duties, I shall be pleased to consult him on the subject.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what measures he is considering for securing the optimum use of agricultural land in Scotland.

In view of the world food shortage it will be necessary to continue for the present the war-time policy of intensive crop production to the fullest extent that is possible with due regard to the productivity of the land, and our labour and other resources. My right hon. Friends the Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries and the Secretary of State are giving active consideration to plans for securing on a long-term basis the best and most efficient use of agricultural land and I hope that it may be possible to make a statement about this before long.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will give an indication as to the methods employed by Glasgow police to put an end to the terror reigning in certain areas by gangs of youths who have been using weapons; and if he will arrange that selected persons shall visit the parents of known leaders and members of gangs known to the police and warn them of the dangers of a continuance of such violent methods.

I deplore the recent increase in clashes between rival gangs of lads, all of whom are under 19 years of age. The police, using motor patrols equipped with wireless, have dispersed various gatherings and made many arrests, and the courts have imposed salutary sentences. As regards the second part of the Question, I see grave objection to visits in individual cases, but everything possible will be done to bring home to parents and boys generally the folly of gang membership and leadership.

Will the hon. Member state whether or not the absence of the regular police has had any effect on this matter; and has not the Department received representations for the release from the Forces of ordinary police, and would the hon. Member consider speeding-up the process of demolisations.

It so happens that this matter is not quite on my side, but is the concern of my hon. Friend the other Joint Under-Secretary of State for Scotland, who happens to be ill. But apart from that, Glasgow, with its terrible tenement dwellings and crowded population is not easy to deal with. The two problems are, lack of numbers in the police force, and also that a good number of the police are now reaching a fair age for police work. I have already raised the matter with the Home Department and we hope before long to start recruitment for the Glasgow Police Force and also to bring back some of the men from the Forces in order to increase it.

Since my hon. Friend attributes the violence of Glasgow gangs to living in tenement buildings, will he encourage the Glasgow corporation to pursue a policy of decentralisation of population?

My hon. Friend raises a wide question and in the meantime I have enough on my hands to get a few houses built.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether in view of the serious position in the nursing services and the need for more recruits to nursing, the Scottish Nurses' Salaries Committee are considering a revision of the salary scales of nurses in Scotland.

Yes, Sir. This matter is being given very serious consideration. The Committee is meeting next week to review the position in the light of the difficulties that are being experienced by hospitals and other employing authorities. Unfortunately, Professor T. M. Taylor has felt obliged to resign from the Chairmanship because of pressure of other work. I am glad, however, to announce that Mr. John Wheatley, Advocate, has placed his services at our disposal as Chairman of the Committee. I should like to take this opportunity of expressing our gratitude to Professor Taylor for his invaluable work.

Will my hon. Friend consider, along with the question of salaries, and in order to cope with the very serious problem of nursing, providing greater amenities in the various institutions where the nurses are employed?

I will certainly put before the Committee the suggestion which my hon. Friend has made, or any other suggestion any hon. Member makes to deal with this very important section of the community.