National Assistance

Part of the debate – in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 24 June 1959.

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Photo of Mr Hilary Marquand Mr Hilary Marquand , Middlesbrough East 12:00, 24 June 1959

I agree, but that is not my point. My point is that it was necessary to pay a total of 300,000 grants as a result of the Rent Act. It cannot be denied that one of the conse- quences of the operation of the Government's Rent Act was a big additional bill for the taxpayers, and even more is now to be paid. Of course it should be paid. We do not want the burden of Government legislation laid on the poorest of the population. But when millions of pounds are being paid in the form of increased rents to landlords whose tenants are families in receipt of National Assistance, I think we are entitled to ask that the provisions of the Act relating to repairs be fulfilled.

When we put down a Question on the Order Paper about this matter some time ago, the answer we received was that this is a matter for the tenant. The individual tenant must see to it that his landlord complies with the letter of the law. The Board cannot do anything about that. It must only satisfy itself that the increased rent has been paid by the beneficiary. All right. The Board cannot accept the duty of ensuring that the Act has been properly applied in a case where the State is paying increased rent to the landlord, but somebody ought to do so.

I think that somehow or other we ought to get a better assurance than we have had so far that houses in respect of which the Board is paying these additional rent allowances are properly repaired. It will be no use for the hon. Lady the Joint Parliamentary Secretary to tell the House later in the debate that the Act is the law and that what is the law will be carried out. We all know, or at any rate hon. Members on this side of the House know from experience in our constituencies, that again and again the law is being flouted by landlords.