On Friday, December 18th, housing was discussed in the HOuse
of Commons, and the Prime 'Minister took everyone' by surprise by announcing that the Govern- ment had decided to shoulder the responsibility of building two thousand house§ in Scotland through the agency of the Scottish National Housing Company. He explained that the tonic of the £40 subsidy per house in Scotland had produced a very poor response. That method was therefore abandoned. The two thousand houses for which the Government would be responsible would provide only two per cent. of the estimated shortage, but it was hoped that such a proof of the Government's determination - to end ' a national scandal "- would provoke more activity in- Scotland. -Any type of house Would -be eligible under the scheme provided-that- the price was on a competitive level. The need for strong measures, as he went on to explain, was shown by a comparison between Glasgow and Birmingham. In Birmingham during the last thirteen months 4,389 houses had been built ; in Glasgow only 1,100, and that figure included 486 houses which were comprised in a scheme of slum-clearance.
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