asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government whether he has yet received a progress report from the Worcestershire County Council on their consideration of the suggested terms of reference and area of search regarding Birmingham's housing needs; and if he will make a statement.

Yes, Sir. I hope that the study will be completed in the autumn.

Is the Minister aware that many of my constituents and myself supported the creation of the new town of Redditch on the firm understanding that there would be no further incursion into the green belt? What is to happen about this? Are we to have a vast great conurbation brought into this green belt?

Birmingham has very special problems of overspill and its needs must be recognised. I give an assurance that the views the hon. Gentleman has just expressed, and the views of others, will be taken into account. In any case, I have no doubt that the study will go into such matters.

May we peer into the ministerial mind? Can we be assured that when the study has been completed there will be proposals of overspill, together with attendant maps, and that there will be no secret palaver between the Socialist administration in the part of Birmingham affected and Whitehall?

I give the hon. Gentleman and the House the assurance that there will be no conniving. It is for the authorities to decide for themselves if the results of the study should be published. The hon. Gentleman should know from his experience that in any case, if an area is to be designated, there has to be a public inquiry. Democracy safeguards the interests of all those concerned in this matter.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government whether he is aware of the difficulties confronting the London Borough of Newham in developing the Welfare Road, Stratford, E.15, Scheme due to the expenses involved; and, as the proposals outlined in Circular No. 36/37 will not prove of assistance to the council, what action he proposes to take to enable the council to progress with this Scheme and overcome the financial difficulties involved.

Officers of the Department and those of the council have met to discuss several of the council's schemes, and I understand that the council will be looking at the Welfare Road Scheme again: my right hon. Friend will be glad to look at revised proposals and to give any further help and advice which may be needed.

I thank my hon. Friend for that reply. Will he be as helpful and as generous as he can to the Newham authority and act as he and the Minister have acted over the years up to the last two or three months, during which they have not been quite so helpful?

The Newham authority is an excellent and progressive authority. If we can help we will. But the scheme is in the sketch layout stage. I hope there will be no delay, and both my right hon. Friend and I will do all we can to help.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government whether he has considered the communication from the hon. Member for West Ham, North, together with the enclosed from Mr. D. L. Lee, showing that local rent officers in the London Borough of Newham have increased rents of slum properties scheduled for demolition, where no repairs or decorations have been carried out, internally or externally, by the owners for years past, from £2 18s. per week, inclusive, to £3 per week exclusive; and, at these rents are exorbitant for slum properties situated in slum areas, what action he proposes to take.

It would not be right for me to discuss tthe merits of individual decisions. If a tenant or a landlord disagrees with a rent officer's decision he can object to it and have the case referred to a rent assessment committee. I understand that in some of the cases to which my hon. Friend refers the tenants have already objected and their cases will therefore be considered by a committee.

Is my hon. Friend aware that the objectives of the Act are being overcome in as much as exorbitant values are being used, sometimes unknowingly, by rent officers because properties becoming vacant in the area have exorbitant rents charged for them and these come to be regarded as area rents? Will he look at this again?

My right hon. Friend is keeping the working of the Act under review and we have no evidence that what my hon. Friend says is correct.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government how many empty houses are now available to Londoners in expanded towns; and what additional assistance he is proposing to ensure that these houses are occupied.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government what advice he is giving to local authorities operating a town development scheme with the Greater London Council on the filling of newly built houses now standing empty.

At the end of June, 1,109 houses were available in 22 London expanding towns. Some had been allocated or were being held for incoming workers. Only three towns present difficulties and my right hon. Friend has arranged for the Department to have discussions with the local authorities concerned and with the Board of Trade to ensure a better balance between housing and industry. The action to be taken will depend on the local circumstances in each town.

Is the hon. Gentleman satisfied with his co-ordination with the Board of Trade over this matter? If firms are discouraged from going to expanding towns, the whole purpose of the scheme is nullified.

None of us can be content while houses stand empty, although I prefer that to having no houses at all available for those coming into new towns to work. One of the difficulties is that some of the firms which had decided to move and had obtained licences changed their minds altogether or deferred the move. It is a difficult matter for a new town to co-ordinate all these factors.

Does not the hon. Gentleman realise that the only way to fill the 150 houses at present standing empty at Thetford and the balance of the 800 now under contract is to enable those who want to leave London for Norfolk to get the appropriate I.D.C. from the Board of Trade? Does not he agree that to delay the issue of these certificates means that the jobs cannot be provided as quickly as the houses?

In Thetford and Haverhill advance factories are being or are about to be built as an inducement to London firms to move. I am not aware that we are having trouble with the Board of Trade, even if there was trouble in the past.

Is it not time to cut red-tape and remove some of the unnecessary difficulties placed in the way of many Londoners who want to move to new towns where empty houses are available for them? Is my hon. Friend aware that I could fill up those 150 houses very quickly?

So could I. Anyone can say such a thing quite glibly, but if there are no jobs ready for those who move, what is Heaven's name is the point of their moving?

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government if he will now introduce the 100 per cent. mortgage guarantee scheme included in the Housing Subsidies Act, 1967.

I am not yet in a position to make a statement about the date of introduction of the guarantee scheme. In any case the scheme cannot be introduced before 1st April, 1968, since the guarantee arrangements are linked with option mortgages which become available on that date.

The Government said they were not going to introduce the scheme earlier because there was not sufficient finance. But as building societies are now lending record sums, what is to stop the right hon. Gentleman bringing in the scheme on 1st April along with the rest?

We said that the beginning of the scheme depended on the economic situation and on the extra burden that it would lay on the building societies and other lending agencies. A record amount of investment is now going into building societies, and advances are also, I am happy to say, at a record level.

Why cannot the right hon. Gentleman tell the House the date when this scheme will be brought into operation? Will be give an assurance that he will consider bringing it in at the same time as the mortgage option scheme—on 1st April, 1968?

I shall keep this under review. We want to make sure that the building societies will have adequate funds available in order to extend the scheme in this way, and we must also consult them about when it would be convenient for them to incur the heavy extra administrative burden imposed on them by the scheme.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government if he will make a statement about his policy in regard to the availability of local authority mortgages.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government, following his letter to the Greater London Council, what alternative arrangements he proposes to make to enable the Greater London Council to continue their home loans scheme.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government what plans he has for providing further finance for local authorities' home loans schemes within the Greater London area.

I have nothing to add at this stage to the reply which I gave to questions by the hon. Member for Bromley (Mr. Hunt) and other hon. Members on 20th June, 1967.—[Vol. 748, c. 209–10.]

Since there is so much money available for the building societies to lend, why is it necessary to impose so many restrictions on local authorities, which are having a disastrous effect on many local authorities' mortgage schemes?

We have to keep some limit upon local authority expenditure. We have said that we would have no objection to local authorities coming to terms with building societies provided we were satisfied that the funds made available in that way were funds that would otherwise be used for housing purposes.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that his hon. Friend's letter brought lending by the G.L.C. for house purchase to a complete halt? Is he aware that this has caused great hardship and disappointment to would-be home buyers in this great city? As house purchase, as a form of contractual savings, puts the least burden on the economy of all forms of house provision, will not the right hon. Gentleman intervene to see that lendings are resumed and that the homeless are able to get themselves a house in a satisfactory way?

Any form of public expenditure which competes with other forms of public expenditure tends to be inflationary in its effect. This year we are making available in the Greater London area £51 million as against £65 million last year, but as against £43 million in the last complete year of the previous Administration.

Would not the Minister agree that the reduction of £15 million in the current year merely means that 7,500 London families will not be in their own homes during the coming year and that, even if the figure be increased by £15 million, there will still be only enough for those needed for medical reasons and gross overcrowding? Should not the Government in their third year do somethink about this urgently?

I am not sure on what the hon. Gentleman bases his figures. Out of a total of £130 million made available this year for the country as a whole, as against £135 million last year, £51 million is going to London. I have to try to strike a balance between the requirements of London and the rest of this country. This is a very fair apportionment of the funds available.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that the Greater London Council's lending stands at a record total of £192 million and, on general building society experience, £19 million will be repaid in capital repayments and redemptions each year? Is that £19 million to be made available again for relending or does it form part of the Minister's total of £30 million?

The total sum available remains the same. Obviously as more and more is lent each year the repayments also grow. The point that we have to bear in mind is that the in crease in local authority borrowing is an inflationary factor.

How does the Government justify conditions so harsh that a growing number of local authorities in England and Wales, quite apart from London, are having to give up their home loan schemes altogether?

At the end of December we had a meeting with the local authority associations. They expressed the view that they did not like the previous system of having categories of loans, that they would prefer a quota, and the suggestion put was that the quota should be based on average lending for the three years ending 31st March, 1965. This was accepted by the local authority associations as a reasonable proposition, although the G.L.C. admitted that it would mean some limitation on the number of advances it was able to make.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government when he proposes to make the order bringing all controlled rents within the ambit of the Rent Act, 1965.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government what plans he has to remove controls from existing controlled tenancies.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government when he will lay regulations allowing landlords to apply to a rent officer for a fair rent in such a case as that of an unfurnished five-roomed flat in the Greater London Area let to a tenant controlled since 1939 and now paying a rent of 37s. 6d. a week, exclusive of rates.

I have no proposals for enlarging the field of rent regulation. I think that much more extended experience of this new system is needed before a full appreciation can be made. I intend to concentrate attention on improving the organisation, including changes to adapt it to the expected load of work, and on measures for encouraging and helping people to make good use of the Act.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that there are many small investors—too few numerically, I dare say, to worry the Government politically, but far too many if justice is to be considered—who are receiving an income which is insufficient to cover their outgoings, let alone to yield a reasonable return? When will he do something about this?

I think the House would agree that there can be hardships on both sides in cases of this kind. The consideration which the hon. Gentleman has mentioned is one that we have in mind in the review we are to make on older properties.

Is the Minister aware that the Conservative clamour for higher rents will be noted by tenants everywhere? Will he instead, through Press and television, advise these tens of thousands of decontrolled tenants who are paying exorbitant rents to go to the rent officer?

I appreciate what my hon. Friend has said. He will be glad to know that I am having a simple leaflet of advice made available which can be issued with rent officers' decisions.

Is it not only social justice that landlords should be allowed to go before the rent officer to make their case? Is the Minister aware that there are rents in the Greater London Area for some of these rent-controlled private flats which are about a third of what is being paid for like flats?

I know there are difficulties of this kind, but the hon. Gentleman will appreciate that a proposal of this kind would lead to a radical change in the structure of housing finance. Our experience of the working of the Rent Act is not sufficient to justify jumping to the conclusion which many hon. Members would like us to accept.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that many properties are moving out of control anyhow? Will he give an assurance that he will completely resist any attempt to speed this up?

The hon. Gentleman will be interested to know that it is estimated that about 10 per cent. of controlled tenancies are moving out of control every year.

That 10 per cent. is a very small number. Is not the right hon. Gentleman aware that the widening gap between controlled rents and regulated rents which are fair rents, according to the Statute, for similar properties makes it impossible for the landlords of controlled properties to keep them in repair? Is the right hon. Gentleman not aware of the availability of rent officers outside London to deal with these cases? Would he think about the matter seriously?

Ten per cent. may be a small figure, but it is still one-tenth. The point that the hon. Gentleman made at the conclusion of his question was answered in my reply to the hon. Gentleman the Member for Hertfordshire, South-West (Mr. Longden).

In view of the unsatisfactory nature of the answer, I beg to give notice that I will raise the matter of the Adjournment at the earliest possible moment.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government if he will initiate a review of the work of the furnished houses rent tribunals.

The tribunals' work is under constant review and figures of cases handled are published in the Ministry's Handbook of Statistics.

Is my hon. Friend aware that once a tenant goes to a rent tribunal it is often the case that there is then a sharp deterioration in his position with the landlord which leads to eviction? Is he planning to take any action following the representations made to his last month by the Neighbourhood Service Unit?

The fact that it was necessary to improve relationships was a reason why in the Rent Act the period of security of tenure was doubled. There are difficulties about assimilating furnished and unfurnished tenancies in this respect.

Is my hon. Friend aware that the present position is absolutely farcical and dangerous because people are led to believe that they can get fair play under the law only to find when it is interpreted for them that it is weighted and biased against them? Will he have the whole situation reviewed?

If there are any particular cases which worry my hon. Friend, I would be glad to look at them, but in general I do not think that that is true of the tribunals, which are working efficiently.

Does the hon. Gentleman recollect that during the passage of the Rent Act, 1965, the Government gave an assurance to combine with the furnished houses rent tribunals the duties of the rent assessment committees? Have the Government made any progress with the combination of those functions?

My right hon. Friend the Lord President of the Council was specifically referring to the long-run policy. For the short run, we have already taken steps to integrate the staffing of the two tribunals and we are continuing to watch the position.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government whether, in the light of the proposals for a Dee Estuary crossing, he will now consider the practicability of designating a new town for Merseyside overspill in northeast Wales.

The preliminary feasibility study by engineering consultants is being published on 28th July. The attraction of north-east Wales for population from Merseyside is clearly one of the factors the Government will take into account in considering, after consultation with regional economic planning councils and local authorities, what further studies shall be undertaken.

I thank my hon. Friend for his assurance that this matter will be looked at. Will he accept that this development is likely to accelerate if and when the Dee crossing is constructed and that the time is now to co-ordinate this development with further employment opportunities?

I will take note of what my hon. Friend says.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government what proportion of the total financial investment in the nation's housing stock was devoted to new construction and improvement, respectively, in the period 1962 to 1966; and what are the corresponding proportions planned during the period 1967 to 1971.

In the period 1962 to 1966 some 65 per cent. of gross investment in housing was in new dwellings, 10 per cent. was on improvements and 25 per cent. was on repairs and maintenance. Expenditure on new housing will increase substantially between 1967 and 1971, as a result of the priority which the Government are giving to housing. How this will affect the division of gross investment will depend partly on the extent to which measures which we are developing for stimulating the rehabilitation of older houses may affect expenditure on improvements and repairs in this period.

Will my hon. Friend bear in mind that many of us will welcome the recent stress upon the scope for rehabilitation of older properties, but that Merseyside Members will not be alone in hoping that the Government are not retreating in any way from their target of 500,000 new houses a year?

Yes, Sir. The problem of the rehabilitation of older properties is urgent and my right hon. Friend is undertaking a review of the sort of legislation which we shall need to encourage local authorities to do a much bigger and better job than they have been doing.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government, in view of the facts that the compensation paid by Birmingham Corporation to a firm of brewers in respect of the site value of an unfit house, 42 Phillips Street, Aston, was £208, and that whereas, in respect of the site value of a similar dwelling, 99 Victoria Road, Aston, acquired by Birmingham Corporation, only £50 has been offered to the owner-occupier, whether he will hasten his review of compensation for unfit houses.

I do not know all the circumstances which might affect these values, and my hon. Friend knows that compensation in particular cases is not a matter for my right hon. Friend; he is, however, considering the general problem with others affecting the older housing stock.

Will my hon. Friend bear in mind that, as the law now stands, there is in effect one law for the rich and one for the poor, and that the owner of several properties may get several times the amount of compensation which is paid to an individual owner-occupier who gets the same site value? Will he therefore expedite his Departmental inquiry; and can he say when he expects it to report?

I hope that early next year my right hon. Friend will be able to say what he has in mind for dealing with these problems. The whole subject of compensation is very much under review now.

Is the hon. Gentleman aware that there is grave and widespread public dissatisfaction with the way in which the present law relating to compensation is being operated? Will he give this review a much higher priority than he evidently has in mind at the moment?

I accept that there is some urgency in the matter, but the right hon. and learned Gentleman and others will agree that we ought not to encourage a market in unfit houses. We had better get it perfectly clear that when we discuss site compensation we are talking about some houses which are so unfit that all they are worth is the site value.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government if he is aware that regulated rents have increased, in spite of the purpose of the 1965 regulations to reduce them; and what action is he taking with a view to securing rent reductions.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government if he is aware of the large number of increases in regulated rents, averaging two and a half times controlled rents for these or similar dwellings; and if he will take action with a view to securing rent reductions.

Registered rents of the smaller type of accommodation with lower gross values are on average less than the previous rents, and I hope that the tenants of such accommodation—who are my particular concern—will not be deterred from going to the Rent Officer if they think that their rents are too high. The object of the Act is to reduce rents which are inflated because of scarcity, and I think it is too soon to make a full assessment of its operation.

Is my hon. Friend aware that it is not too soon for me to say that the forecast made by his right hon. Friend the Lord President of the Council when Minister of Housing has not been fulfilled in my constituency? Is he aware that in my constituency only a minority of rents have been reduced while the majority have remained static or have risen? What does he propose to do about it?

Encourage tenants of properties where rents ought to be reduced to apply to the rent officer in large numbers.

Will my hon. Friend take note of the growing demand that the Minister should ask Sir Sydney Littlewood and his rent assessment colleagues to stop fixing rents which clearly reflect the acute shortage of accommodation, or for rents to be reduced to the controlled rents for similar types of property?

I was very glad that just now my hon. Friend gave the weight of his authority to encouraging tenants whose rents were too high to apply to the assessment committees. I am sure that that is the way in which to achieve the balance.

Is the hon. Gentleman aware that certainly in some London constituencies, including my own, what deters applications on either side is the delay in the hearing of cases by the rent assessment committees?

My right hon. Friend is taking steps to improve the staffing and reduce the delay.

The Minister has now been reviewing the Act for about 12 months. Will he now say whether he is either happy or disappointed with the level of rents being fixed by the panels? If he is disappointed, what on earth is he to do about it?

I would never feel happy if any of my hon. Friends had doubts about the efficacy of the Act, but by and large it has made a tremendous improvement by taking rents out of politics and giving confidence to tenants that they have security of tenure.

Do not the questions put by the Parliamentary Secretary's hon. Friends show that the majority of rents being charged before the Act came into force were fair, as is proved by the decisions of the tribunals? Will the hon. Gentleman explain to his hon. Friends that the purpose of the Act was not to reduce rents below a fair and proper level?

My right hon. Friend and my right hon. Friend the Lord President of the Council have always said and the Milner Holland Committee said that it was only a small number of unscrupulous landlords who were causing any problem. The Act has given protection to the victims of those landlords.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government when the Parker Morris minimum standard for play space will become mandatory in the case of local authority housing schemes submitted to him for subsidy or loan sanction.

I would refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Eton and Slough (Miss Lestor) on 18th July.—[Vol. 750, c. 209.]

Does my right hon. Friend not agree that it is a pity that one in four of the major housing authorities are apparently not providing play space on their estates with flats? Would he not agree that for families with small children play space is as important as living space?

I agree very much with what my hon. Friend has said. The National Joint Committee of Working Women Organisations raised this with the Ministry in 1962 and we have been carrying out a survey recently under the direction of the research and development group. It is our intention to see that as many local authorities as find it practicable to do so provide play space. We still find it difficult to decide what form the play space should take and what kind of play space is appropriate under special circumstances.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government in how many cases rent assessment committees, when hearing cases, have received representations from Members of Parliament; and what is his policy regarding the attention to be paid by rent assessment committees to such representations.

I have not the information asked for in the first part of the Question. A Member of Parliament may represent, or give evidence for, a party before a rent assessment committee. I have no doubt that the committee would welcome his attendance and would treat his representations just as they would those of anyone else seeking to represent the viewpoint of one of the parties.

Does the Minister not accept that it is the function of these committees to have regard not to compassionate circumstances but to valuations and, therefore, evidence which is inexpert is inappropriate, if not improper?

One of our major problems in the working of the Rent Act is to be quite certain that tenants and landlords who do not find it easy to put their case, get skilled assistance in putting it, and I see no reason why Members of Parliament, any more than anyone else, should not help people in need.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government whether he will now introduce legislation to amend Section 49 of the General Rate Act, 1967, in order to bring about a definition of income for the purpose of assessment of rate rebate.

No, Sir. I think that that would create more problems than it solved.

Is the hon. Gentleman aware that there is a significant difference in the treatment of annuities when defining income? As part of the rebate is financed from the Exchequer, what steps does he propose to ensure uniformity in the definition of income in relation to annuities?

These matters are left to the discretion of the local authorities under the Act. I think that they should be left to discuss them and to even them out in practice in due time.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government if he will publish the individual applications for grants received by his Department from local authorities to help cleaning the beaches of oil from the "Torrey Canyon" disaster.

Many authorities have yet to submit claims, and those submitted may not be complete. I will, with permission, publish in the OFFICIAL REPORT a list of the authorities who have applied showing the expenditure in respect of which grant is claimed.

Is the hon. Gentleman aware that some other local authorities have had great burdens to bear in clearing up oil from their beaches and that because the oil did not happen to come from the "Torrey Canyon" they get no grant? Will he, in fairness, extend the grant-aid system to all local authorities affected by oil pollution?

The Government are considering the future of grant aid as part of their general review of the lessons of the "Torrey Canyon" disaster, but I would not hold out much hope of any action being retrospective in its effect.

Is the hon. Gentleman aware that there is considerable discontent about the burden that has fallen on the rates in some areas affected by the "Torrey Canyon" disaster because the grant was not 100 per cent., although inland areas did not benefit?

I have no evidence of discontent. The figures are still coming in with claims for grant.

Why will not the Government consider meeting all reasonable expenditure by local authorities in dealing with this matter, which is of national concern?

The Government are examining the future position. My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister made a statement about financial assistance following the "Torrey Canyon" disaster which was universally welcomed as being very helpful.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government when he expects to receive the report of the Royal Commission on Local Government.

I hope to receive the Report towards the end of 1968, Sir.

Could we have an interim report? Surely action must be taken this side of the General Election to relieve the property owners from the rising costs of education. Many of these property owners are small people who cannot afford these rising costs.

The rising costs of education seem remote from the question that the hon. Gentleman has on the Order Paper. It is most unusual for time limits to be put on Royal Commissions. Lord Redcliffe-Maud has been extremely helpful in saying that he hopes to report by the end of the year. Remembering the immensity of the task, we owe a great deal of gratitude to Lord Redcliffe-Maud for the way he has co-operated in this matter.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government if he will review the rule relating to planning appeals, whereby consideration of one appeal cannot be deferred for some period of time to allow consideration of planning appeals for similar projects in the same locality.

There is no such rule. If two planning appeals are closely connected, my right hon. Friend considers them together; but every appeal is determined on its merits, and he would not delay one appeal in order to compare it with another unless there were strong reasons for doing so.

Is my right hon. Friend aware that the first part of the answer contradicts a letter which I have from the Parliamentary Secretary? Would he not agree that the kind of case about which I have written to him, namely, two different planning appeals for two golf driving ranges within five weeks of each other, should be considered together rather than the outcome of the second be determined by the outcome of the first? Should we not make sure that the procedure is not the enemy of good sense in this matter?

Obviously my hon. Friend has misconstrued the letter which he got from the Parliamentary Secretary. It does not seem that these two cases are so closely related to justify delaying the consideration of the first. However, if my hon. Friend thinks that there is further information that we should consider and will let us have it, it will be considered.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government how many unfilled vacancies for planners there are in his Department; and what proportion of the total this represents.

28 or 16 per cent. of the complement, Sir.

While it is difficult to establish how many candidates will accept positions, if all those declared successful in recent recruitment competitions do accept, most of these vacancies will be filled.

Has the Minister made any estimate of the further increase that will be required to meet the proposals in the White Paper on planning? Where are these extra planners, both in the Ministry and outside, to come from?

My right hon. Friend has made and is continuing to make estimates of what will be required under the new proposals, but at the moment the signs are that recruitment is improving.

Is the Minister aware that although there may be slight difficulty in obtaining planners in his Department, the G.L.C. has a sufficient number? Would he give an undertaking that when the Thames Mead public inquiry comes to be held there will be a reasonable space of time allowed from the last day for objections, because other authorities have net a surfeit of planners and need time to prepare their cases?

That does not arise out of this question.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government where the international hoverport on the South coast is to be sited, and when; and what information he has about the terminus on the other side of the Channel.

My right hon. Friend has formally before him a planning application for a hoverport at Pegwell Bay. He is aware of a public announcement by British Rail that they intend to start a service from Dover Harbour in the summer of 1968. He decided to re-open the Pegwell Bay Inquiry in order that the relative advantages of using Dover Harbour might be considered. My right hon. Friend's information about the terminus on the other side of the Channel is given in the Inspector's report of the first part of the public inquiry. I am sending the hon. Member a copy.

When will the final decision on this matter be made? Is it not scandalous that in the country where this form of transport was invented progress should he held up because of the right hon. Gentleman's inability to reach a decision?

I am not so aware. I am aware that the reopening of the inquiry was generally welcomed, and certainly there will be no delay in reaching a conclusion.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government when he expects to give further guidance to local authorities about planning permission procedure linked with car parking facilities.

A circular is with the printer and should reach local authorities within three weeks.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that this news will be very welcome as it is a long time since the Minister first undertook to give this guidance and there is still considerable confusion among many local authorities? Can he give some idea of the general lines of guidance which he intends to lay down?

We are obliged for the hon. Gentleman's representations. As he will have expected, the guidance will make it clear that it is a cardinal principle that no payment or other consideration can be required as a condition of the granting of planning permission.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that improper payments in the meanwhile have undoubtedly been made, and will he consider getting reimbursements made in suitable cases?

The hon. Gentleman will not expect me to deal with individual cases unless he lets me have particulars of them. If he does so, I will certainly consider them.

Has it not taken a very long time to tell local authorities that it is highly objectionable to demand payments in cash in return for planning permission?

The hon. Gentleman will understand that we have had to consult the local authority associations and we have only just received the last of the replies.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government when the study of the Barnsbury environmental area will be completed; and if he will make a statement.

The study is making good progress. The study team hopes to present its report to the Greater London Council, the London Borough of Islington and my right hon. Friend in the autumn. An earlier interim report was circulated widely to interested associations in the area, who were asked for their comments on it and on the problems to be tackled in the main study. Subsequently the team has described its work in progress to a meeting of Islington Borough Councillors and is having useful and constructive discussions with the Barnsbury Association.

While thanking my right hon. Friend for that Answer, may I ask him to ensure the maximum democratic participation by the local inhabitants concerning their environment?

I can assure my hon. Friend that we are most anxious that this should be done. As he knows, in the White Paper we have emphasised the importance of participation, and this is an experiment in that participation.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government what progress has been made by the planning unit on its study of Humberside.

The Physical Planning Unit at Barton-upon-Humber has completed its survey of Humberside. The results of the survey have provided the basic physical information for the "feasibility" study which is being undertaken by the Central Planning Unit of the Department of Economic Affairs. My right hon. Friend would like to take this opportunity of thanking the local planning authorities for their co-operation in the work of the Unit.

While joining with my right hon. Friend in congratulating the combination of the local authorities with the central State organisation in getting this physical planning unit review completed, could my right hon. Friend tell us when the information which has been made available to the D.E.A. will be made available to the local authorities and the general public on Humberside so that they can also take part in this debate?

It is available to the D.E.A. now and further studies now progressing will report in due course.

Is it not a fact that improved communications, including the Humber Bridge, are being held up until the final study is completed? When can we expect the final development study for Humberside?

Is the Minister aware that Humberside M.P.s welcome the efficiency of his Department? It is so efficient that it is transferring my Questions to the D.E.A. Will he use his influence with his Cabinet colleagues to be equally efficient in this matter?

I can assure my hon. Friend that we are always seeking efficiency.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government what plans he has to assist local authorities in their housing programmes by providing capital loans at minimum rates of interest.

The Housing Subsidies Act, which received Royal Assent in May, introduced a new system of housing subsidies which provides, in effect, a stable rate of 4 per cent. on loans raised by local authorities for house building. This applies to all houses approved since 25th November, 1965, and, in the case of certain authorities with exceptional problems of slum clearance or housing shortage, to all houses completed after that date.

Is my right hon. Friend aware that, while this is an improvement, it is not making much of an impact on the general problem of housing. Is my right hon. Friend further aware that high interest rates are strangling the efforts of progressive local authorities in providing homes? What is more, it is also bedevilling their planning of buildings generally.

My hon. Friend should really try to observe a sense of proportion about this. The number of houses started in the public sector in the first six months of this year was 23,604 more than it was in the corresponding period for last year. On a typical local authority house costing £3,800, the basic subsidy under the new Act will be £85, which should be compared with £24 before the Act was passed.

asked the Prime Minister if he will take steps to make the Secretary of State for Education and Science responsible for the education and training of all handicapped children and young people up to the age of 18 years.

I would refer my hon. Friend to the Answer I gave on 29th June to a Question by my hon. Friend the Member for Newark (Mr. Bishop).—[Vol. 749, c. 129.]

Is my right hon. Friend aware that there is a serious lack of facilities for the education and welfare of these young people, arising in part, at least, from the present division of ministerial responsibility? Will he consider this as a matter of some urgency?

My two right hon. Friends concerned, and all of us, recognise the very serious problem presented. They are in very close consultation on all aspects of the problem, including the question of whether there should be changes in Ministerial responsibility. I am not yet convinced that there should be, but I hope that I may be able to make a statement later in the year.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that advances made in recent years point clearly to the need for making this an educational responsibility? Will he use his influence to resolve this matter at the earliest possible date?

My right hon. Friends and I are well aware of the recent advances in this. It is not yet felt that this means that the responsibility for all the children concerned should be a matter for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Education, but we are considering very deeply the division of responsibility between the two Departments.

asked the Prime Minister if he will make a statement on the up-to-date position of the British application to join the Common Market.

asked the Prime Minister if he will make a statement setting out the progress which has been achieved with the United Kingdom's application to join the European Economic Community.

I would refer hon. Members to the Answer I gave on 13th July to Questions by my hon. Friend the Member for Woolwich West (Mr. Hamling) and my hon. Friend the Member for Salford, West (Mr. Orme).—[Vol. 750, c. 1005.]

Is the Prime Minister aware that many people who supported the application are very concerned at how long this application will remain outstanding, and while obviously the Prime Minister cannot set a time limit. would he agree that this application should not remain outstanding for months on end without real progress being made?

My hon. Friend must not get faint-hearted in this matter. It is little more than two months since the application was put in, and while we are anxious to make the most speedy progress, a good deal has been achieved in Europe in making our position clear. Of course, we shall be very disappointed if there is a serious hold-up in the process of negotiations. At present the Commission is working on all the matters raised by the British application.

When does the right hon. Gentleman expect the Six to reach a decision on our application? Will it be before the summer of 1968 and, if our application fails, has he an alternative policy ready?

The hon. and learned Gentleman will be aware that we do not control the actions of the individual members of the Six, and therefore it is impossible to give a meaningful answer to that question. With regard to alternative plans, I have dealt with them very many times, both in the debate on 8th May and since then and at successive Question Times. If the hon. and learned Gentleman missed this, I would be very glad privately to supply him with the necessary references.

Would my right hon. Friend not agree that the arguments used yesterday by the Chancellor against devaluation apply with equal if not greater force against Britain entering the Common Market?

No, Sir. They are two entirely separate questions. The argument used by my right hon. Friend commanded very wide support in this House, among those who know the real facts of our trading position. Those who have studied the opportunities for Britain in Europe would feel that what he said on that question has no bearing at all on the question of entering the Common Market.

Would not the right hon. Gentleman agree that General de Gaulle's outburst in Canada yesterday lacked friendship to this country and the Commonwealth? Was it not most regrettable?

Events which take place within the Dominion of Canada are matters for the Canadian Government, not for me.