The Coming Attack on " Slums " grim Housing (No.
2) Bill, the Government's new measure, received this week a Second Reading without a division in the House of Commons. The Bill is comprehensive and carefully thought, out. It is a logical development.from the housing legislation of the past, and is clearly based upon the vast experience gained since 1919 by the officials of the Ministry of Health.
Some, no doubt, would like to see more encouragement given to private enterprise, possibly on the lines advo- cated by the leaders of certain building societies. Little attention is given in the Bill to the value of good manage- ment by enlightened landlords, who, like Lord Salisbury in Liverpool, have adopted the Octavia Hill system. But power is given to Local Authorities to experiment with various forms of management. We miss, too, the proposals to decentralize our congested cities as promised last month by Lord Marley, and we may hope that these will be dealt with in the forthcoming Town Planning Bill, for it is as imperative to place new houses on the right sites as to build new homes that can be let at rents within the reach of those who at present inhabit our slums.
Even with these missions the. Bill is a weighty docu- ment, containing fifty-six Clauses and five Schedules, and involving entirely new departures from the present pro- cedure. Different remedies may be tried by Local Authorities. Surgical operations, known as " demoli- tions," will clear away the disease-centres of unhealthy areas, while remedial treatment, consisting partly of demolition, partly of reconditioning, and partly of the readjustment of population, will be given in what are known as " improvement areas."
In a " clearance area," where property is worn out, a Local Authority may acquire the whole area, and then arrange for demolition of the insanitary dwellings, or else the owners themselves may be required to demolish. It was expecting too much, after Mr. Neville Chamberlain had reported in 1922 that a reform of the basis of com- pensation was urgently required, and yet had done nothing during five years of Conservative power to carry out his own recommendation, that the Labour Govern- ment would offer further compensation to owners than. site value. _ It is to be hoped, however, that Mr. Green- wood in Committee will accept amendments, possibly based on the plan of compensations put forward by the. Surveyors' Institution, so that owners who have done their best to maintain their property decently may be fairly treated.
But before demolition alternative accommodation' must be provided for the displaced tenants. A new system of grants to enable new homes to be let at low rents is proposed. At present, Exchequer assistance is given towards the cost of a clearance scheme not exceeding, one-half of the estimated average annual loss, Under the new proposal there will be a grant fixed on a unit basis, payable annually for a period of forty years. This will be based on the number of persons requitvd to be displaced, for whom new accommodation is rendered available. There is, however, no compulsion on any free Citizen to move into a new dwelling if he does not wish to do so, and persuasion will be necessary.
Normally, the amount of grant will be 45s. per dis- placed person. Accordingly, if a family consisting of father and mother and three children is accommodated, the total annual grant will be 211 5s. But the grant will be increased to 70s. per displaced person in cases where it is necessary to provide rehousing accommodation in tenement buildings of more than three storeys on the site of the cleared area, or on other sites the approved cost of which exceeds £4,000 an acre. On sites in London, where the cost of land is sometimes £8,000 an acre, such an increased grant is fully justified.
Not only are the needs of urban areas considered, but help is given to clear our village slums. Where persons have been displaced from houses in agricultural parishes the grants will be inereased to 50s. per person. Further- more, County Councils can undertake building on behalf of Rural District Councils, and must make a contribution towards the cost of providing houses for agricultural workers or other workers in rural districts. This should do a good deal to stimulate rural housing.
The Scottish Housing Bill adopts the same procedure as is proposed for England, but the grant is 5s. more for each person, and details are adjusted to local conditions.
It is improbable that spectacular progress will be made in actually clearing slums, in spite of the increased grants and the improved procedure. But we may well expect that more rapid results will be achieved in the new " improvement areas " where Local Authorities can act by demolition, by reconditioning, by the opening out of blind alleys, and by the abatement of overcrowding.
Ill-informed critics are lamenting the probable cost.
It should be noted, however, that the new subsidy is clear-cut. The Treasury have learnt by bitter experience the dangers of the unlimited subsidy, granted by Mr. Lloyd George under the 1919 Act, which has involved us all in a liability of nearly £7,000,000 a year for the next. sixty years. Even if the rate of rehousing is increased ten- fold in the next ten years—which seems unlikely—the total cost of the new grant will not be excessive, corn: pared with the extravagances of the past, and we arc at last undertaking a shrewdly planned campaign. Further. more, it is recognized in the Bill that housing subsidies will not necessarily become a permanent part of our social services. The scale of contributions will be reviewed in 1988 and subsequently at intervals of three years. Revisions are inevitable, as the building industry mod- ernizes its methods, and reduces the present high costs.
It is impossible here to do justice to all the fifty-six Clauses in this Bill. Reference should be made, however, to the encouragement given to the 250 Voluntary Housing Associations already established, so that they may extend their beneficent work, hand in hand with local authorities. Another valuable addition is the offer of a contribution equivalent to a capital grant of £86, so that, smaller houses may be built for aged persons. Many old couples are at present overhoused, having rooms vacant in their houses. If they can be provided with attractive smaller dwellings elsewhere, their present houses may be freed for persons with young families. Further provision continues to be made for differentiation of rents, according to the quality of the accommodation, the geographical location of the house, or on such terms as a Local Autho- rity may decide.
Finally, we must recognize that the Bill places the direct responsibility of action upon local housing com- mittees. Authorities should therefore endeavour to per- suade the most capable men and women to serve; so that the best brains of the loca. lity may be applied to the problem, and that the campaign may be planned with. the definite aims of 'demolishing " clearance areas," and cleaning up " improvement areas," in a given time. In order to do this efficiently, administrative and executive staffs will probably have to be strengthened, and the machinery of Local Government improved in many districts. Legislation in short must be 'translated into wise action if this Bill is 'to succeed 'in fulfilling the hie); hopes raised by its sponsors and well-wishers.
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