A Housing Programme At Last
Housing is a very difficult and complex practical problem, but it is remarkably seldom treated as such. The twin curses of public discussion have been the absence of a published programme, without which intelligent study can hardly begin, and the bedevilment of the whole issue for the purposes of party politics. The publication of a White Paper on the housing programme for 1947 is the first step to overcoming the first difficulty. The programme is for the completion of 24o,000 permanent and 6o,000 temporary houses in this year, which does not sound inordinately ambitious in view of the fact that over 215,000 houses were already under construction on 31st December, 1946. But with an average labour force of 300,000 available for the erection of new permanent houses, it is in fact a very difficult goal to reach, even if all the Minister of Health's misgivings about the supply of materials (and of imported soft-woods in par- ticular) prove unfounded—which can hardly be the case. The least that can be said is that the programme with all its reservations, is much better than nothing, and that if Mr. Bevan succeeds in meeting it he will have earned a good measure of public commendation. In these circumstances the early reactions of the Conservative Opposition are completely regrettable. The opportunity has been seized for a spate of criticism of past performance (which, although bad, has been slowly improving) and of the present programme. Wherever •a choice of figures has presented itself, the lowest has always been selected. And an early debate is to be asked for, one of whose purposes must be to use the programme as a stick with which to beat the Government All this is the most blatant party opportunist-1.nd has little to do with meeting the housing needs of the people. Moreover, it is Rely to discourage rather than encourage the publica- tion of further programmes, which is a dis-service to the community
at large. Mr. Bevan may not be a perfect Minister, but there is hale to be gained by hampering him an his attempt to do a very difficult job.
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