War-Damaged Houses
Another practical step towards preparation for emergency is the issue by the Minister of Health of a memorandum to local authorities on the repair of houses damaged in air-raids. Two questions arise here. One, the extent to which, if at all, the Government will under some comprehensive insur- ance scheme indemnify the owner of the property, is still unanswered. The new memorandum is concerned with another consideration, the maintenance of adequate housing accommodation for the population. With that in view, local authorities are instructed by the Minister of Health to under- take immediately emergency repairs to damaged buildings in order to make them fit for habitation. After that more substantial repairs would be carried out, and though notice would be given to the owner, and he would no doubt be consulted, the task of repair would be mandatory, and the Cost would be a charge on the premises. It would not be recovered, however, till " the end of the emergency." Simi- larly, the money required for the repairs would be obtained by the local authority from the Ministry of Health, and there would be no settlement as regards interest or repayment till the end of the emergency. A good deal of common sense will be called for in the execution of this programme, but the scheme as a whole is practical and necessary.
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