Slums and Economy
BY B. S. TOWNROE.
MANY readers of the Spectator no doubt fear that Government economies may impede the pro- vision of better housing accommodation for those now living in the slums. Even if housing legislation is not suspended, the force of events will probably compel a slowing down of the municipal building of small houses. Already a number of local authorities have adjourned consideration of housing schemes, and in one or two cases have asked that the 1931 Housing Act should be suspended.
It must not be taken for granted that a lull in municipal housing will necessarily'mean reaction. Indeed there are some who think that the time has come to take stock of the position in order to discover how far we are leaving undone what we ought to have done in housing. The valuable speech made on the wireless this month by Sir John Mann, whose writings are well known to readers of the Spectator, indicated that much more may still be done by wise management. His broadcast speech suggests the question, " Are we making the best use of the 960,000 municipal dwellings erected since the War, and are all housing estates efficiently managed ? "
We have undertaken financial liabilities since the War in the form of national and local loans borrowed for the improvement of housing conditions in these islands to an amount estimated by reliable authorities as approxi- mately £1,000,000,000. Part of this sum has already been taken out of the pockets of taxpayers and ratepayers, and the remainder will continue to be extracted from the next two generations up to the year 1982. These figures are so staggeringly high that they are difficult to comprehend. A simpler figure is that of last year's loss on London County Council dwellings. According to the official report of the Comptroller, this loss amounted to more than a shilling a week on each of 213,000 occupants. We have made more progress in housing reform than any other nation in the world, but still have evil slums to clear in town and country.
Should the National Government, either by Orders in • Council or by administrative action, slow down the expenditure of public money upon new council houses, there is no need for housing reformers to despair. Much may be done by housing committees conducting a rigorous examination in the family responsibilities and the gross earnings of all their tenants. It will not be sufficient to ascertain the income of the chief householder, for experience proves that in many council houses there are two or more weekly wage-earners. Some tenants will obstinately refuse to give any information at all. This may be taken as a tacit acknowledgement that they recognize that their position is such as not to justify the continuance of an indirect " dole " in the form of an uneconomic rent. Such families should be placed on the list of those to be warned that after January 1st, 1932 they will no longer be accepted as council tenants, and that their homes will be required for other families, now Occupying overcrowded and insanitary homes. This policy will not be easy to carry out. Vested interests have become entrenched on many a municipal housing estate. In some cases chairmen of district councils and councillors have succeeded in becoming municipal tenants themselves. In any case officials will not enthusiastically welcome the task of evicting men and women who have paid their rents regularly, and going through the unpleasant process of selecting new tenants. The process of redistribution is bound to be unpopular, and will expose members of housing committees to bitter criticism. But Mr. MacDonald has warned the whole country that we have to cut our coat according to our cloth. The warning will no doubt be applied to municipal housing.
If the policy outlined above, which has already been initiated by some far-seeing local authorities, is generally adopted, it will mean that much better homes will be available within the next twelve months for a quarter of a million persons now suffering from bad conditions in our slums. But such a transfer will make the question of management all the more important. Nothing is more encouraging to those who believe in the innate common sense of the British than to see the way unskilled workers, often unemployed and suffering from bad health, respond to better conditions, provided that they are assisted by landlords and their agents. An exhibition of the work of voluntary housing societies in London is to be held in the Central Hall during the coming autumn, and this will reveal the success of women house property managers in dealing with families removed from squalid conditions, Management is not, however, a matter for women only. The Exeter Workmen's Dwellings Company with a history of half a century of work in dealing with the poorest of the community, is managed by men. It is providing good homes for nearly 1,000 people dragged from the horrors of slum life ; it is paying a dividend of per cent.; only £2 10s. out of total rents of over £11,000 have had to be written off as irrecoverable ; and, according to Mr. I. P. G. Davey, the Secretary, over 99 per cent. of the tenants are keeping their new homes in good order. The same story is told by those who administer all voluntary housing associations, provided skilled managers are employed.
The conclusion of the whole matter is that a temporary cessation of the building of municipal houses may be a blessing in disguise, provided housing committees do not relax their efforts to improve conditions. In the first place it is desirable that steps should be taken throughout the country to ensure that every council dwelling is occupied by a family, that is thoroughly deserving of financial support at the cost of their neighbours. In the second place more efficient manage- ment, either by men or women trained on the Octavia Hill principle, is desirable. It will be foolish extravagance to allow our municipal housing estates to degenerate into slums before the debts incurred are paid off by our children and grandchildren. True economy to-day demands that the best use possible should be made of the 960,000 municipal homes built since the War,
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