asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government if he is aware of the shortage of housing sites in the borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme and the danger that this may jeopardise the progress of the housing programme; and if he will take urgent action to assist the local authority in this matter.

I am aware of the difficulties and have written to the hon. Member explaining the steps being taken to resolve them. My regional officers are meeting the council, and the county council on 4th February.

While thanking the Minister for the action taken, may I ask him to watch the position very closely? Is he aware that between the natural objections of the farming community and the dangers of mining subsidence, the Newcastle Council is in a very tight position with regard to land and requires the assistance of his Ministry to find a way out?

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government how many local authorities have made representations to him to the effect that their housebuilding programmes are jeopardised by the actual or prospective shortage of suitable sites; and what action he is taking.

A detailed record is not readily available. I am sending the hon. Member a copy of two circulars sent to all local authorities during 1952.

Is not the right hon. Gentleman aware that many local authorities are confronted with this position? Has not the time come for a general survey into the land position, in view of the fact that the right hon. Gentleman has advised local authorities to look five years ahead in the planning of their sites, although very many of them are unable to do so?

I will put it this way: As a result of the work done in the past, and now, there is no difficulty, as I see it, in providing adequate sites for an expanding national housing programme for the country as a whole, but there are very considerable difficulties in special localities. That is really the problem, rather than a general problem which I am convinced can be dealt with, if we take the whole national demand.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government what advice he has given the local authorities concerning the building of housing estates on agricultural land.

The most recent advice is contained in Circular No. 65/52. I am sending my hon. Friend a copy.

Will my right hon. Friend tell us whether he is prepared, in conjunction with his right hon. Friend the Minister of Agriculture, to call a halt to the present disastrous trend whereby this country is losing something like 50,000 acres a year, from which in the ultimate we may be compelled to live?

I think the fact that Questions Nos. 1 and 2 follow one another on the Paper points to the difficulty in getting a proper balance between the needs of housing and the needs of agriculture. That we have tried to do.

Is the right hon. Gentleman satisfied that in these cases the farmer is given adequate notice of the intentions of his Ministry or of the Ministry of Agriculture? Is he aware that only recently in my division a farmer arrived one morning at his fields to find building workers ploughing up and desecrating the standing crops? Is he further aware that when I took the matter up with the Ministry of Agriculture, I was told that neither the local planning authority nor the Ministry of Agriculture were responsible or had any need to give notice to the farmer in question?

I find it rather difficult to answer the details in that supplementary question without the place, the period, the time or the people concerned, but we certainly do our best. On the whole I think it is primarily with the Ministry of Agriculture, representing the farming interests, that we make our arrangements, and, generally speaking, they work smoothly and pretty well between the Departments and the interests concerned.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government the total subsidy per council house now being built; what is its total cost; and by how much rents would have to be increased per week if all subsidies were withdrawn.

The standard subsidy for a council house is now £35 12s. 0d. a year, equivalent to a capital sum of £769. Upon the basis of the figures used in fixing the subsidy, rents would have to be increased by a further 13s. 8d. if the subsidy were wholly withdrawn.

Does my right hon. Friend not think that it would be better to withdraw all these subsidies and make the people pay the proper price for what they are getting, giving money help to those who really need it?

My hon Friend is asking two very large questions which I cannot deal with by Question and answer.

Would the Minister bear in mind, when considering whether to withdraw the subsidies, that such action would be well in line with all the other actions of this Government on the subject of the cost of living?

Is my right hon. Friend aware that if the subsidy amounts to —35 12s. over 60 years, with compound interest at 2½ per cent., it means that the subsidy for each house is about £4,840, and would it not be better to encourage those who can to purchase their houses instead of carrying on this subsidy over 60 years?

I am not a mathematician, but I am informed that my hon. Friend's figures are based upon a somewhat fallacious calculation. I am doing all I can to encourage private enterprise and private building, and I think we shall see a considerable success.

Would the right hon. Gentleman say what is the income required to enable a person to buy his or her own house.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government (1) whether he will state the total cost to taxpayers and ratepayers, over 60 years, of the subsidies on a council house built today for £1,500; how much of this total subsidy cost is contributed by Exchequer grant; how much by ratepayers, both figures aggregated over 60 years; and what would be the total saving to taxpayers and ratepayers combined if such a £1,500 house were built on an owner/occupier basis with an initial Exchequer bounty or grant of £200 and free from any further or continuing subsidy, generally in accordance with proposals made by the Kidderminster Rural District Council recently;

The general standard subsidy on a council house is £35 12s. 0d. a year for 60 years. Three-quarters of this subsidy is payable by the Exchequer and one-quarter by the local rates. The capitalised value of the total payment at current interest rates is £769. No subsidy or grant is payable for houses built for owner-occupation. Nor could such a subsidy be paid without legislation, of which I see no prospect. I have accordingly told the Kidderminster Rural District Council that I cannot support their proposal. As regards the total estimated cost of housing subsidies, my hon. Friend must await the publication of the annual Estimates. I am not prepared to prophesy about the number of houses which will be completed in 1953.

In consideration of the fact that over a period of 60 years the total cost of subsidies must be a figure substantially in excess of £3,000. is it not desirable to consider a small bounty so as to avoid this continuing burden on ratepayer and taxpayer until 2013 A.D., rather than to transfer the responsibility forward to many generations yet unborn?

Is the Minister aware that in the Isle of Man they have a scheme whereby they grant up to £250 per house to encourage self-building and up to £500 interest free, and if that were transplanted to this country would it not save an enormous amount of direct and indirect taxation?

I am much encouraged by these questions and by the advance that they reflect. A year ago there was practically no private house building in this country, but there has been a great change and we have made great strides. I hope we shall be allowed to see how these experiments develop because a new scheme was started only on 1st January this year and it would be wise to let it progress and then see how things are going.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government the total number of houses already approved for construction in 1953; the number expected to carry council house rent subsidies; and the number being built under private licence.

The numbers of houses under construction at the end of 1952 and the additional numbers approved but not yet started at that date will be shown in the Quarterly Housing Return to be published on 4th February; the Return will distinguish between subsidised and other houses.

If the number of houses for rent subsidised council houses this year exceeds 200,000, as it very likely will, is the Minister aware that we are entering this year into a debt which amounts to £476 million over 60 years?

I am sure that any calculation made by my hon. Friend is correct.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government whether he is aware that building costs have risen by 40 per cent. since 1948, as stated recently by the Stevenage Corporation; what is the reason for this; and what have been the increases in wages and materials, respectively.

I think the most authoritative report on building costs yet published is that of the Girdwood Committee, to which I would refer my hon. Friend.

I am much obliged to the Minister for referring me to the Girdwood Report, but I have read it. Does he hold out any real hope of stopping these fantastic increases?

I am always trying to secure a fall in costs. Perhaps the most hopeful sign is the fall of nearly a month in the period which it takes to build a house in 1952, as compared with 1951. If we can get quicker building and quicker completion that will be a form of reduction of costs.

Is it not a fact that a very considerable portion of the increased cost is due to the rise in interest rates? In order to try to keep down costs, will the Minister give an undertaking that the rate of interest will not be increased in future to development corporations?

The fall in respect of timber and labour played a far bigger role. The fall in the price of timber has had a far bigger effect than any rise in interest rates.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government the number of housing units in the Metropolitan area damaged as the result of the last war and still uninhabited owing to repairs not having yet been effected.

Up-to-date information is not available, but most of these houses where payment was to be on a cost-of-works basis had been brought into occupation before the end of 1951.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government whether he is aware that a large number of houses in Oldham and Lancashire generally are now in a condition in which they are unfit for human habitation; and whether he is prepared to introduce legislation to suspend payment of rent whilst a house is certified as unfit for human habitation.

No, Sir. Local authorities already have power under the Housing Acts to repair an unfit house at the owner's expense, and, if necessary, to recover the money from the rent due to him. I am considering the whole problem of houses falling into disrepair. It is not, I am afraid, confined to Lancashire.

Has the right hon. Gentleman considered the problem of a corporation like Oldham bearing this expense of reconditioning 10,000 houses, most of which cannot be re-conditioned, anyhow? [Laughter.] I am very much obliged for that intervention. What I said was: Has the Minister considered the case of Oldham in attempting to recondition something like 10,000 houses, most of which could not be efficiently reconditioned—[HON. MEMBERS: "Ah."]— or economically re-conditioned? I am very glad that I have now made the point clear to hon. Gentlemen on the Government side of the House. Will the Minister bear in mind that tenants are having to buy more and more coal, spend more on fuel in damp and disgraceful housing, and bear very heavy burdens which are no fault of theirs?

Mr. Hale—No. 10.

Am I to assume that the right hon. Gentleman is refusing to answer my supplementary question on Question No. 9?

I am sorry. The Question called is Question No. 10.

I have asked a supplementary question to Question No. 9 which the right hon. Gentleman has refused to answer.

I thought the supplementary question was so diffuse that it almost answered itself. I will certainly bear in mind all the points put in such a cogent and coherent manner by the hon. Gentleman.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government how many houses were completed by local authorities in England in the year ending the 31st December, 1952; and how many of these had been commenced or had had plans passed and approved, prior to the 31st December, 1951.

I fear I must not anticipate the Housing Quarterly Return. It will be published on 4th February.

Will it not show that the right hon. Gentleman has been doing a very remarkable amount of cackling over somebody else's eggs?

I must not anticipate the return, because if I do so I shall get into trouble with the hon. Member for Reading, South (Mr. Mikardo).

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government if he will exempt the Borough of Slough from the order to grant licences automatically for the erection of privately-built houses, in view of its exceptional difficulties in providing an adequate number of houses according to need, arising from the lack of sufficient facilities for drainage until its sewage disposal scheme is completed.

No, Sir.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that building in Slough is possible in only one restricted area because of the drainage difficulty, and that if privately-built houses are automatically licensed it not only means that people in other parts of Slough who are in most need will not get houses but that sewage will seep into the streets? Will he look at this matter again?

I have looked at the matter, but it is not in accordance with the advice I have received either from the local authority or from my own officers.

Has not the Minister received a letter from the local authority which makes exactly the point I have made in my supplementary question?

The information that I have is exactly the contrary.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government if he is aware that land prices have, in some cases, trebled since the abolition of the development charge; and what steps he proposes to take to stop such practices.

I have very little evidence that unreasonable prices are being asked for land. It is to be remembered that vendors can no longer expect anything from the £300 million fund and that developers no longer have to pay development charge; some increase in price may therefore be justified in some cases.

That circular does not in the least deal with the problem. Is the Minister aware that I have an instance of a group of self-help builders who negotiated for a piece of land in Surrey at a price of £3,700 and immediately the development charge was abolished the price jumped to £11,000? Does he regard that as reasonable, and in view of the fact that it is three times the original price, and therefore cannot include a development charge which surely would not be 300 per cent., does he not think it necessary for the Government to take some steps in the matter?

Without knowing what was the claim on the fund and, therefore, the difference between the existing use value and the total value, I could not answer, but the hon. Gentleman and his hon. Friends have a remedy, because they are still in time to vote against the Third Reading of the Bill which will abolish the development charge.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government what steps he is taking to encourage those in income groups up to £500 per annum to become owner occupiers of houses instead of rent subsidised council house tenants.

The most powerful encouragement would be a fall in the price of new houses, and for that I must look to the building industry with its new freedom to build under licence. There are considerable facilities for borrowing from building societies, insurance companies and local authorities, and I will welcome any assistance to make them more widely known.

Whilst agreeing with the Minister that cheaper building is important, would he not agree that the building society basis is that weekly repayments of the purchase of a house must not be more than a quarter of the weekly income of the borrower, and that the present buildings costs bring the price of the house to a level where some sort of a capital grant would be needed?

Is one of the steps which the Minister is taking to encourage the purchase of private houses the increase in the rates of interest that he has imposed?

No, Sir, but the increase in the Bank rate is one of the steps that has stabilised the currency and has prevented a rise in prices which would have doubled or trebled the price of houses.

Can my right hon. Friend say what proposals he has in mind to prevent the present position developing any further whereby many families in receipt of an income of more than £500 a year are living in council houses and are being subsidised by other families who financially are much worse off?

That is too large a question for me to deal with by Question and answer.

Is the right hon. Gentleman not aware that the present rates of interest are preventing many people from buying such houses?

No, we are making it possible by keeping prices down as a result of dealing with the inflationary situation.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government if he will circularise local housing authorities on the necessity of a points scheme to govern the allocation of housing accommodation and the dangers of allocation by individual councillors.

I am sending the hon. Member a copy of a circular and its enclosure in which these questions are dealt with.

Is the Minister concerned about the proper use of £769 per house, which, he has already told us, goes on Government subsidy to housing, and would he regard it as a good use of that money to house two old age pensioners in a three-bedroom house and to refuse a house to a five-children family, with triplets newly born, which has been done by the Seisdon Rural District Council, which has no points scheme?

Of course, I realise the anxieties of the hon. Gentleman, but it would not be at all satisfactory if the housing arrangements and allocations were made by a centralised Department in Whitehall. It is, broadly, more satisfactory that it should be carried out by the local authorities responsible. The only method is to issue general guidance to them, which we do, and I think that generally speaking, although no doubt they may make mistakes, like other public bodies, that method works and is the only way in which a thing of this kind could work. I do not, therefore, propose to alter it.

May I apologise, Mr. Speaker, for not being in my place to ask Question No. 12, and ask the Minister whether he is not aware of the difficulties under the present system, whereby people who were bombed out and now live in another area, or who have had to move from their normal place of residence, cannot get on to any housing list because some councils have a pre-1939 residential qualification and some have a residential qualification over, say, the last two or three years? We have, therefore, the anomalous position of many hundreds of thousands of genuine cases who cannot get on to any housing list at all. Will not the Minister look at this position?

I understand the problem, but it is a difficult one to deal with within the general structure.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government whether he is aware of the need of a community centre on the new housing estates of Caerau, Ely Racecourse and Fairwater, Cardiff; and what action he is taking.

I have not received any proposals from the corporation in the cases mentioned.

Is the Minister aware that these are very large housing estates, with no amenities at all except the day school which has been put up? Will the right hon. Gentleman make some inquiries to see that the ordinary decent amenities are available to these people in the new estates?

Yes, Sir, although I ought to say that I have not been approached by the corporation concerned. As I am approached in so many cases, I will not stimulate others, because the pressure is so great. If they ask me, however, we will look into it.

Will the Minister take it that I have now approached him, and will he show an interest accordingly?

I assume that the hon. Member and the corporation are one and the same.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government whether he will modify the control over the selling price of houses built since the war so that, while an effective check is retained against speculation, a vendor is not penalised, as he is at present, where he may wish or be forced to sell his house.

I have this matter under consideration and hope to make an announcement later in the Session.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government if he is aware that present arrangements for the disposal of sewage in some parts of the rural district of Newcastle-under-Lyme constitute a danger to public health; and if he will give the necessary permission to proceed forthwith with schemes for the improvement of sewage.

I am authorising a start on work in the Parish of Audley; a scheme for Madeley has been approved but is not yet ready to start.

Does my right hon. Friend take a sympathetic view of capital sums expended upon abating nuisances connected with sewage disposal? There are such nuisances in many other parts of Great Britain?

I take a very sympathetic view, but we have a very large demand and we try to deal with it as far as we can according to pressing needs in each part of the country. To do the whole job would be a very long business.

Would my right hon. Friend bear in mind the proposals for my own constituency?

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government whether, considering their menace as breeding places for juvenile crime, and as encouragement to youth in this Coronation year, the Government will institute an immediate inquiry into the problem of bomb sites and their clearance and possible adaptation as playgrounds for children living in the congested areas of big cities.

Local authorities were given wide powers for this purpose by the War Damaged Sites Act, 1949, and I think that this matter is properly left to them.

Is the Minister aware that there are, I think, 150,000 of these sites not cleared today? Would he not agree that sufficient speed has not been shown, and would he ask the local authorities how quickly they can get on with this matter?

This question and answer will help to achieve that purpose.

Is the Minister aware, that, in the City of Birmingham, in the five re-development areas in the centre of the city there are bombed sites which will not be touched for five or 10 years, for re-development? To keep our youth off the streets, surely after all this time something should be done to clear these bombed sites and, perhaps, make little parks of them, or even racing tracks?

I should not like anything to go from me in criticism of the City of Birmingham, because the history of Birmingham housing re-development is very fine.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government by what authority he places on the public highway in Tothill Street, S.W.1, two boards reading, Ministry of Housing and Local Government, "No parking between these boards."

By no authority, save common sense. Satisfactory parking arrangements are now operating in that street.

Does this mean that the Minister is trying to place his Government Department above the ordinary law of the land? Is he aware that such bureaucratic acts are very dangerous indeed, and is it now open for private individuals who are annoyed by cars parked in front of their houses and offices to place these notices on the public highway?

I do not think that any great harm has been done. Of course, if we have blocked up the entrance to the Fabian Society, I must apologise.

Is my right hon. Friend aware that on frequent occasions I have taken these notices out of the street because they are totally illegal?

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government whether he will now permit new town development corporations to sell the freeholds of business premises.

Yes, Sir.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government if he is aware that development at Durranhill Industrial Estate, Carlisle, is being held up pending a decision of his Department; and if he will make a statement.

Yes, Sir. I am afraid that this has been an exceptionally tangled case. The City Council want to carry out road works, and following a variety of difficulties it now appears that they do not own all the land involved. As soon as they do so I hope to give them the consent they need.

Is the Minister aware that I asked him in May last year to help in connection with this case and that he promised to do so? The development is now being held up, not by the local authority, but pending a decision of the right hon. Gentleman's Ministry at regional level. Will he please look at the matter again and do all he can in aiding this development?

Perhaps the hon. Member and I might meet and see whether we can hammer out any details. My information is that the hold-up is because the land has not been acquired and, of course, I cannot give the permission until the land has been acquired. I will, however, look further into the matter.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government how many county councils had prepared the draft maps of their area required by Section 27 of the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act, 1949, by 16th December, 1952; to how many an extended period for the said preparation has been granted; and what is the maximum extension granted.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government whether the county council survey of public footpaths has now been completed; and to what extent county councils have taken steps to ensure the effective sign-posting of footpaths as many did in pre-war years.

Twelve county councils completed draft maps for the whole of their areas by 16th December, 1952. Forty-nine county councils were given extensions of time, but 12 of these had prepared maps for parts of their areas. The maximum extension was 18 months. I have no information regarding sign-posting of footpaths.

Can my right hon. Friend say whether, on the evidence available to him, he has formed the impression that the delay is due to the dilatoriness of county councils or to the over-optimism of the period fixed in the legislation?

I feel sure that the delay is due to the fact that it is a difficult job.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government the last occasion on which an inter-Departmental committee inquired into the cause and effects of fog; and what action has since been taken to combat the worst features of this type of weather.

This is an important problem. So far as I know, no inter-Departmental committee has investigated the weather conditions which cause fog; I believe they are generally well understood. As regards the prevention of atmospheric pollution, I would refer the hon. Member to the reply the Parliamentary Secretary gave him on 18th December.

Does the Minister not appreciate that last month, in Greater London alone, there were literally more people choked to death by air pollution than were killed on the roads in the whole country in 1952? Why is a public inquiry not being held, seeing that inquiries are held into air and rail disasters which do not affect so many people? Is consideration being given or will it be given to initiating a much more thorough investigation, on the lines of that conducted by the American Government in 1948? Has the right hon. Gentleman seen the report? It begins with:

"The whole nation was shocked when 20 people died as the result of fog in the last week in October, 1948, in the town of Donora, Pennsylvania."

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government how many local authorities have sought and obtained special powers, since the war, to deal with the pollution of air by smoke in their areas; to what extent the operation of such powers has proved effective; and whether he will consider the introduction of general legislation dealing with the subject.

Twenty-seven local authorities have sought and obtained special smoke abatement powers since 1945; in addition, two county councils have obtained powers for the use of district councils in their areas. The effects of these powers, as distinct from those available under the general law, cannot be readily assessed, and I am not satisfied that further general legislation is needed at present. I am, however, keeping this aspect of the matter in mind.

But is not the Minister aware of the fact that disastrous results are following on these powers not being exercised, and is he not prepared to do something further to urge local authorities to attempt to exercise the powers vested in them?

We do what we can but, of course, the hon. Gentleman must realise the enormous number of broad economic considerations which have to be taken into account and which it would be foolish altogether to disregard.

Will the Minister take into account the great economic waste that results from the bad use of fuel, and will he use all his powers to persuade the Government to carry out the recommendations of the Ridley Committee to avoid that waste?

We are doing that to a great extent in our new building, but it is a big undertaking to alter the whole of the present fuel system of the country.

Is the Minister aware that this is also a very serious human problem and that during the fog period in December the death rate in London was the highest it has been for a comparable period for over 50 years? Surely some step must be taken to implement the Ridley Report or some other proposals in order to avoid fog trouble in large cities?

Can the right hon. Gentleman at least encourage local authorities in the development of a smokeless zone, which seems the most profitable way of tackling this problem?

The hon. Gentleman knows perfectly well that there are dual problems of the right kind of fuel and apparatus in which to burn it, and to think that we could suddenly change the whole country in the twinkling of an eye from one system to another is ridiculous. On the other hand, we are making steady progress in the use of new designs and methods and in making them, if not universal, at any rate almost universal, in the new houses and in other ways. I think we can say that we have made as much, if not greater, progress in the last year as has been made at any other time.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government what representation his Department has on the Atmosphere Pollution Research Committee; or in what other ways he co-operates in the work of this Committee.

My Department is represented on this Committee by the Chief Inspector of Alkali Works.

What is this Chief Inspector doing as a result of the 6,000 deaths that took place in the Greater London area in December as a result of the fog? Is the Minister aware that his complacency in dealing with this problem is creating a lot of dismay, and is he further aware that the increasing use of modern domestic fires, which burn all night—[HON. MEMBERS: "Speech."] —using such smoky fuels as nutty slack, is adding to the number of—[HON. MEMBERS: "Speech."]. Mr. Speaker, may I have your protection?

I do not think that the hon. and gallant Member is generally in need of my protection, but I think he would make his supplementary question more easily audible and less interrupted if it was shorter.

Is the Minister aware that the increased use of these modern appliances, which burn all night, using fuels like nutty slack, have during his tenure of office added another 250,000 fog-producing and air-polluting flues in this country? What is he doing about this?

I answered the Question which the hon. and gallant Member asked me: which Member of my Department sat on a particular Committee. Whether the Committee dissipate or generate fog is another problem.

Owing to the amazing display of apathy, I give notice that I shall raise the matter on the Adjournment.

asked the Minister of Works for what amounts and on what dates since 1st January, 1946, he has granted building licences in respect of the premises of Barclays Bank, Market Street, Bradford; and what information he has as to the total amount expended.

The original licence for £50,000 was issued on 19th April, 1949. Because of the increasing labour and materials costs, a supplementary licence for £5,000 was issued on 2nd May, 1951. The increased costs proved greater than the amount of the supplementary licence and the final cost worked out at £60,867.

Will the Minister agree that in this case there were two very serious expenditures exceeding the licence figure? Will he inform the House whether, in view of these two breaches of the regulations, his Department decided to prosecute the persons concerned in June of last year and then, for some reason or other, within a week of having to lay the information, decided to withdraw the prosecution? If that is correct, will the Minister inform the House of the reason for this extraordinary conduct on the part of his Department?

In April, 1951, the Bank applied for a larger supplementary licence and justified their request, but my Department felt that they were asking for too much. In the event the Bank were right, and any form of prosecution would, I am quite certain, fail.

Will the Minister remember that in the last Parliament there was considerable enthusiasm on the part of his hon. Friends behind him for the prosecution of a nationalised board upon evidence which was certainly no stronger than faces us here? Will he attempt to hold the balance fairly between nationalised undertakings and private banks, and examine this matter again with a view to a prosecution?

The two cases are not at all comparable. Here is a case where there has been no deviation from the original conditions of the licence except an increase in costs, which the Bank brought to our notice when they saw that it was taking place. Really, it is not comparable with the other case.

Will the Minister state definitely whether his Department decided to proceed against the persons responsible in June of last year and whether my information is correct that that was discontinued in November? Will he explain this extraordinary conduct on the part of his Department in this matter?

I have no information of any such decision.

asked the Minister of Works why a Question, put down by the hon. Member for Bradford. East, to be answered by him on Tuesday, 16th December, was the subject of a Press statement by one of his Department's officials, subsequent to the tabling of the Question.

The inquiry from the Press was answered several days before the hon. Member's Question was circulated on the Order Paper.

Apart from the extraordinary circumstances of the explanation being accompanied by the Question I put to the Minister, will the right hon. Gentleman explain the reason why the explanation by a responsible official of his Department should totally misrepresent the facts and be deliberately designed to mislead members of the public as to the facts at issue in this case? In view of the charge I make of deliberate misrepresentation of the facts by an official of his Department, will the Minister have an investigation made and make a further statement to the House on the matter?

Nothing of the kind is true. A statement was made on 26th November in response to an inquiry from the Westminster Press who, I believe, are the owners of the "Yorkshire Observer" and the "Bradford Telegraph and Argus." On 4th December the "Yorkshire Observer" inquired whether they could use the statement. They had an absolute right to use it and the statement as I saw it in the Press was quite right.

In view of the fact that the statement which was published in the Yorkshire Press is in direct contradiction of the statement the Minister has now made from the Despatch Box, may I quote—[HON. MEMBERS: "No."] —for the information of the Minister and to substantiate what I am saying—[Interruption.]? Do hon. Members not want the truth? The statement was:

"The Ministry of Works spokesman told a 'Telegraph and Argus' London representive that the work was licensed for £50,000 before the war and begun but was stopped during the war."

The hon. Member's question is exceeding the bounds of length.

In view of the very unsatisfactory reply by the Minister, I propose to raise the whole question on the Adjournment.

asked the Minister of Works what special new attractions there will be at the Battersea Festival Pleasure Gardens for the forthcoming season.

This is a matter for the board of the Company and I have every confidence that they will arrange a very attractive programme of new features. I understand that, in their view, publicity for new attractions will have most value if it starts about a month before the opening date.

Does not the right hon. Gentleman appreciate that hundreds of firms and organisations arrange their trips months before and many organisations and firms want to know about Battersea Gardens? Is it an atomic power plant? Why the secrecy? If the Minister wants to see it succeed, why does he not see that someone gets cracking on the business?

As a matter of fact, I put the point the hon. Member has made to the board of the Company, but from their experience in this matter they feel the disadvantages of coming out too soon are over-weighed by waiting and making it more of a surprise. I believe that these gentlemen understand their business.

Does the Minister really believe that story?

asked the Minister of Works what steps are being taken to repair the carriageway at the eastern end of St. James's Park, in view of its dangerous and undignified condition.

The surface of Horse Guards Approach Road is patched, but I do not regard it as dangerous. As soon as repairs to underground services at present in progress are complete, the carriageway will be resurfaced. This work will be completed before June.

Will the right hon. Gentleman come with me to inspect the potholes at the north end of the road, some of which are three inches deep?

Yes, Sir.

Could the red surfacing material in the Mall be used so that there can be uniformity?

Yes, Sir.

asked the Minister of Works whether he will take steps to improve the lighting of the Central Lobby of the Palace of Westminster in such a way as to improve its appearance and to conduce to the convenience of strangers visiting the Palace; and whether he will consider the possibility of floodlighting the windows from outside and of lighting up the mosaic work behind the patron saints and on the roof.

I would refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 19th December, 1952. The general lighting will be improved and the work will include the illumination of the mosaics. It is too difficult and expensive to floodlight the windows from outside.

asked the Minister of Works whether he will arrange for a memorial to be placed in the Tower of London to Peter Wentworth, Member of Parliament, who died in the Tower for asserting the right of Members of Parliament to free speech.

The claimants to memorials in the Tower of London are many, and I hesitate to assume the difficult task of adjudicating between them. If it were thought good to commemorate Wentworth's championship of free speech, the Tower of London does not seem to be the most suitable place for a memorial.

Was he guillotined there?

Is the Minister aware that Peter Wentworth was an hon. Member of this House who wanted the House to be, as it is today, a representative House where hon. Members can freely discuss all matters concerning the country and where they might freely bring forward legislation? Is he aware that for this he was three times imprisoned in the Tower of London and finally died there? Does he not think that he should see that the significant martyrs in the history of freedom in this House should be suitably honoured by memorials in the Tower, where they are buried, or in this House?

We could look into that.

asked the Minister of Works whether he will make a statement on his reply to the request of the County Councils Association for joint consultation with him on the question of the part played by builders' conferences in connection with tendering and contracting procedure.

Bodies representative of the building industry, under the leadership of the Royal Institute of British Architects, are about to embark upon a review of the tendering and contracting procedure in the industry. This review is not intended to be an inquisition into the activities of the builders' conferences, but no doubt account will be taken of the measures which they adopted to meet a real problem. I understand that the Royal Institute of British Architects have already been in contact with the County Councils Association in connection with the review.

Is the Minister aware that the county councils are very concerned at the revelations made in the debate initiated by my hon. Friend the Member for Faversham (Mr. P. Wells), that they offered to meet the Minister, that they have advice and information to give him on this important matter and it is right that he should consult them as well as the builders and architects of the country?

I shall be very glad to hear what they have to say.

Can the right hon. Gentleman assure us that he himself has not grown luke-warm over this matter since it was first raised in this House?

Yes, Sir.

asked the Minister of Works why he did not refer the arrangements of the London Building Conference to the Monopolies Commission or to an investigation of a judicial or quasi-judicial nature.

The review to be undertaken by the industry itself will cover a wider field than the activities of the London Builders' Conference and I had hoped that a special investigation of the activities of the Conference would not be necessary. I am, however, prepared to recommend reference to the Monopolies Commision or some other appropriate body, if that will assist the general review and I am consulting my right hon. Friend the President of the Board of Trade on the suitability of a reference to the Commission.

asked the Minister of Works what action he proposes to take in consequence of the Girdwood Committee's latest report that, in 1947, 45 per cent. more man-hours were required to carry out a given quantity of work, as compared with 1938–39; that, in 1949, productivity was still 20 per cent. below pre-war level; that average productivity during 1951 was no higher than 1949; and if he will make a statement on this position.

The policy of the present Government is to create the conditions under which the building industry will be able to increase productivity. In the main these conditions are more materials, better incentive schemes, better management and more freedom. There was a marked rise in productivity last year and I am confident that this progress will continue.

As an expert economist, do not these figures cause my right hon. Friend great disquiet in view of the threat to our standard of life which they indicate?

I am much more concerned with the future, and we are getting on very well.

asked the Minister of Works what steps he has taken to ensure an ample supply of bricks in the hands of builders so that no housing scheme is held up in the County of Northumberland.

Production of bricks in Northumberland is increasing, but a large number will have to be imported from outside the county. Taking the Northern Region as a whole, I expect the deficiency in 1953 to be made up by substantial deliveries of fletton and other types of bricks from other regions, and by imports from abroad.

Am I assured by my right hon. Friend that there will be no hold-up at all in any of the housing schemes in Northumberland on account of shortage of bricks? Could he say anything about the quality, because I understand that some bricks leave the kilns practically red hot?

The Minister of Works neither makes nor sells bricks. [An HON. MEMBER: "He drops them."] I can give my hon. Friend no definite assurance; it depends on a number of factors quite outside my control, but we do our best and, on the whole, I think the situation is not bad. As to complaints about quality, if they are brought to me I will look into them.

Will the right hon. Gentleman instruct one of his regional officers in the North-West to visit some of the brickworks in Lancaster and the north side of Preston where they are wheeling bricks into stock while many men are unemployed who could be producing bricks if they would buy bricks there?

I do not think the hon. Member is quite well-informed. I was in Lancashire the other day talking to brick makers who have made large contracts to sell bricks to Northumberland and the North-East Coast. My information is that they are not stocking to any extent in Lancashire.

Has the Minister not already received a letter from me concerning brickworks wheeling bricks into stock? They cannot get rid of their bricks because of the price.

I shall have to look into that.

Is it not the case that though the Minister does not make bricks he sometimes drops one, as he did at Middlesbrough on 29th May?

Is it not a fact that bricks are being stocked in some brickworks because the price is out of all proportion to those in other places? That is precisely the position in Bristol, where the Minister is trying to get local authorities to use local bricks.

It is true that prices of bricks differ. Naturally if a local authority can get the cheapest brick it tries to do so, but it is not really in the interests of the housing programme that everyone should specify the cheapest brick and only the cheapest brick.

asked the Minister of Works the stocks of building bricks on January, 1952, and November, 1952; whether he is aware of the concern expressed by brick manufacturers at the reduced stock position; and what steps he proposes to take to improve the supply of bricks for house building.

Experience has shown that as the brickyards receive more orders they make more bricks and it is not the brickmakers who are concerned about the low level of stocks. These were 184 million at 1st January, 126 million at 30th November and 144 million at 31st December. My right hon. Friend the Minister of Housing and Local Government and I believe that prompt ordering and prompt payment, and buying where possible locally produced bricks, are the best measures to secure an adequate supply.

Is the Minister aware that these figures which he has given are very different from the figures for brick stocks as published in the Digest of Statistics, which is a Government publication, but that in any case they show a considerable drop? Is he further aware that the Midland Federation of Brick Manufacturers have themselves pressed him to conduct an inquiry into the question of brick production, and have suggested that in view of the shortage of bricks it may be necessary for the Government to import foreign bricks into this country in order to maintain their housing programme? Does the Minister consider that good business efficiency in the matter?

The difference in the stock figures may lie in the fact that I was referring only to building bricks and not to all kinds of bricks. We are getting on very well with brick production, which in December was 544 million against 486 million in December a year ago.

asked the Minister of Works what steps he is taking to overcome the present shortage of facing bricks in the Poole area.

Production of facing bricks in the Poole area will rise again when the seasonal works in the neighbourhood come into production in a few weeks. Meantime, my officers will do their best to assist in any specific complaint made to them of a shortage where work is held up.

In view of the long waiting list for housing in the Poole area, and in view of the fact that one-third of the local unemployment is in the building industry, will my right hon. Friend do everything he can to expedite production of these bricks?

My hon. and gallant Friend will help me if he can use his influence to persuade local architects and builders to order local bricks.

asked the Minister of Works what discussions have taken place between the Ancient Monuments Division of his Department and the Church Commissioners in relation to the problem of the care and preservation of churches.

The Church Commissioners have sought my views on the recommendation of their Disused Churches Committee that redundant churches of architectural and historic importance should be placed in the guardianship of my Department. The problem is complex and I propose to discuss it further with the Commissioners.

As the Minister is aware that there is a growing number of redundant churches, many of great historic and architectural value, will he, wherever possible, consider assuming responsibility for their maintenance?

I should like to do so, but on my Ancient Monuments Vote I have no money for taking into guardianship disused churches.

asked the Minister of Works whether he is aware that the newly-constructed temporary footway to the north of the main entrance of Westminster Abbey is so narrow that two persons cannot pass; and whether he will arrange for this to be widened.

I am arranging for the footway to be widened.

Does the Minister realise how grateful the many users, like myself, of this footway will be for his statement?

asked the Minister of Works what steps are being taken to deal with current shortages of building materials.

Production of building materials for which I am responsible continues to increase. Current shortages are not widespread and appear to be decreasing.

As Questions put to the right hon. Gentleman today prove that shortages of all kinds are occurring up and down the country, may I ask whether the Minister is aware that this mad unregulated scramble for building materials, deliberately caused by the present Government, is considerably adding to the cost of housing construction?

It has been a surprise even to Conservative Ministers that the building industry has been able to expand and use a much larger quantity of materials with the same labour force than it did before.

Are not these figures proof of the improvement of productivity, when the same labour force can use so much more material?

asked the Minister of Works to what extent he is using labour otherwise available for house building for the building arrangements in, and around, Westminster Abbey in connection with the Coronation.

The number of men employed in the Abbey who might otherwise have been employed on housing is 95, but none of them was drawn from housing work.

Are no building workers to be employed on the Annexe, which is estimated to cost £50,000, and could the Minister explain why that Annexe is necessary at a time when the housing position is so difficult?

The figure I gave included all the work in the Abbey and the Annexe together. I do not think that the public grudge this modest expenditure of materials on the preparations for the Coronation.

Is it not a fact that Members opposite objected to the cost of the building of the Festival of Britain, which lasted for a much longer time? Is it in accordance with Her Majesty's wish, sent to local authorities, that there should be economy and simplicity, that the Minister should set such a bad example?

The Prime Minister, in answer to a Question before Christmas, gave the reasons why there has to be an Annexe. I am quite satisfied that the conduct of the Coronation requires it. I do not see any comparison between the Festival of Britain and the Coronation.