I am in agreement with some of the points made by the hon. Member for North Edinburgh (Mr. Willis). I am distressed at the size of the allocation of new houses for the City of Edinburgh. I feel that it should be greater. I am very distressed indeed at the long waiting list of applicants for houses. Somehow or other it never seems to grow any less. One can undoubtedly see houses rising, but more and more applications for them keep coming in.

Before the war we were going ahead pretty well with the building of houses in Edinburgh. I was on the town council, representing a ward which is now part of the Constituency of the hon. Member for North Edinburgh. If my memory is not at fault, I recollect being told officially in 1939 that, at the then rate of building, within five years we would complete what was then called the slum clearance and overcrowding campaign. The war intervened and the housing programme came practically to a standstill. I do not admit for a moment that the rate of building in the City of Edinburgh before the war was anything about which the Opposition or the Corporation of Edinburgh need feel any shame. It was going ahead well in comparison with other places.

I was interested in the figure of 50,000 houses mentioned by the hon. Member for North Edinburgh, and I was shocked by it, because it is a higher estimate than I have ever heard before. The last official statement I recollect was the announcement about nine months ago by the City Treasurer that 30,000 to 35,000 new houses were required, and that is a big enough order in all conscience. I am appalled to think that the position is so bad that the figure has now risen to 50,000.