Clause 5. — (Subsidies for Flats, Expensive Sites and Agricultural Dwellings.)

Part of Housing Bill – in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 27 June 1961.

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Photo of Mrs Eirene White Mrs Eirene White , Flintshire East 12:00, 27 June 1961

I wish very briefly to support the Amendment moved by my hon. Friend the Member for Fulham (Mr. M. Stewart) with his customary thoroughness and lucidity. I do so partly because I regard it as a paving Amendment to my own Amendment, which is next on the Amendment Paper. While my Amendment has nothing to do directly with finance, it would be difficult to operate it satisfactorily unless sufficient finance were provided for those authorities which are obliged to build high. Therefore, I think that the Minister should pay attention to the arguments put forward by my hon. Friend.

The Government, of course, recognise, and have done previously, that the expense of building high blocks is considerable, and they make some provision for it. All that is suggested in this very reasonable Amendment is that in some cases these expenses are markedly higher than in others, and that in a Bill of this kind there should be flexibility for the Minister, in suitable circumstances, to make an additional payment, which will be necessary if the kind of flats to be put up are to be tolerable dwellings. Unless this extra financial provision is forthcoming when required, the kind of amenities which some of us are most concerned about for these fiats, and the lack of which makes flats intolerably uncivilised, will not be provided for financial reasons.

It seems to me that the terms of the Amendment proposed by my hon. Friend, as he pointed out, leave the Minister a very wide range of discretion. He is not bound to dole out money to all and sundry on some rigid formula. He is able, in the terms of the Amendment, to fit the subsidy very largely to suit the circumstances of an authority. An authority cannot make claim to the subsidy unless it can show that its costs are higher than average, nor can it make claim for additional consideration unless it can show that there is real need for building high. One does not want to get into the situation where one authority says, "I must go higher than my neighbour and have a finer sky-scraper than theirs." It would not, and we would not wish in the least to encourage building high just for the sake of building high.

7.0 p.m.

On the other hand, when it is necessary to build high it is most essential that we should be sure that the authorities concerned have the resources not merely to build high but to build really properly designed, properly equipped, properly constructed dwellings. If they do not have those resources it will be just as easy to have shoddy, shabby buildings in high blocks as it is to have them in houses of one or two storeys.

Therefore, I earnestly hope that the Minister will accept what seems to me to be a very reasonable and necessary Amendment.