Propuesta de Solución C

2. Government L e g isla tio n

There were sev era l rep orts published during the war which sought to provide a plan fo r th e post-w ar b u ild in g programme. In 1944 both

'Planning Our New Homes' and 'D istrib u tio n of New Houses in Scotland* were p u blish ed . The recommendations of the la t t e r report d ea lt w ith

the need to co-ordinate housing programmes w ith in d u str ia l development and th e planning o f housing schemes as in teg ra ted communities. I t a ls o argued th a t the r e s t r ic t io n o f the Exchequer subsidy to the replacem ent o f u n fit houses and to th e r e l i e f o f overcrowding w ith in th e area o f au th o rity prevented lo c a l au th ority housing from being a v a ila b le to

1. I b id ., 1951, p .31. 2. S .E .C .S ., 1951, p .3 .

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workpeople transfeirred from other areas.^ The report recommended th at th e Government's announced in te n tio n to grant a subsidy fo r general needs during a two year post-w ar tr a n sitio n p eriod should in stea d be extended to ten years a fte r peace was d eclared . This was to crea te more m o b ility o f the populace by allow ing housing authori­ t i e s to provide fo r fa m ilie s moving from one area to another. The s ig n ific a n c e o f th is recommendation was th a t i t recogn ised th at the

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housing problem could no lon ger be solved in purely lo c a l terms. I t

was no lon ger viewed as e ith e r p r a c tic a l or e ff ic ie n t fo r each lo c a l a u th o rity to deal e x c lu s iv e ly w ith i t s own a ffa ir s . By 1944 constant movement o f the in d u s tr ia l population was p erceived as an in te g r a l part o f th e economy and hence should be d irected on a n a tio n a l sc a le .

However th e 1944 Housing (Scotland) Act only provided two years o f subsidy to cover gen eral needs and d ea lt w ith permanent houses only. The Government p o lic y on temporary housing was to be found in the

Housing (Temporary Accommodation) Act, 1944. In th is Act i t was d elin ea ted th at the M inistry o f Works would organ ise th e manufacture o f temporary, p re-fa b rica ted houses which would then be given to the lo c a l a u th o r itie s , who in turn would p lace the houses on s it e s they had

se le c te d . Local a u th o r itie s made annual payments to the Exchequer as long as they p o ssessed th e houses. This was a complete break w ith any previous or subsequent enactment, fo r i t had always been the lo c a l a u th o r itie s who b u ilt and owned as w ell as le a se d the houses w ith S tate a ssista n c e . Under t h is scheme Scotland receiv ed 32,000, more than a

1, Cramond, Housing P o lic y in Scotland, p. 26, and S c o ttish Housing A dvisory Committee, D istr ib u tio n of New Houses in S cotlan d ,

(Edinburgh, H.iLS. 0 ,, fo r the Department o f H ealth fo r Scotland, 1944), p. 11.

f if t h , o f th e 157,000 temporary houses constructed.^

I t was becau se of th e g e n e ra l r i s e in b u ild in g c o s ts th a t th e H ousing (F in a n c ia l P ro v is io n s ) (S c o tla n d ) A ct, 1946 in c re a se d th e sub­

s id ie s from £10 1 0 s. Od. to £21 10s. Od. f o r a house o f th re e a p a r t­ m ents o r le s s ; from £11 15s. Od. to £23 Os. Od. f o r a house of fo u r ap artm en ts; and from £13 Os. Od. to £25 10s. Od. f o r a house o f f iv e

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apartments or more. T his Act was passed by the new Labour Government and not only rep laced the 194^f- Act but a ls o made th e new su b sid ies a v a ila b le r e tr o sp e c tiv e ly fo r any house completed a fte r 7 March 1944, the day b efore th e housing p o lic y statem ent by th e v/artirae C o a litio n Government. A lso i t s p e c if ic a lly s e t no exact tim e lim it on th e a v a il­ a b ilit y o f the su b sid ies fo r the general needs o f the ’working c la s s e s '. In th is sense th e 1946 Act f in a lly implemented the recommendations o f

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the 1944 ’Report on the D istr ib u tio n of New Houses in S cotlan d '.

The purpose of th e Housing (Scotland) Act, 1949 was not to r a is e the su b sid ies but m s to encourage the improvement o f e x istin g homes. The S c o ttis h Housing A dvisory Committee i n t h e i r 1947 r e p o r t on

'M odernising Our Homes' had e stim a te d th a t over 400,000 houses, ap p ro x i­ m ately 3 0 p e r c en t, o f a l l houses in S c o tla n d had no s e p a ra te w ater

c lo s e ts w hile many more had no bathroom , o r had a bathroom o r w ater

1. I b i d . , p .27.

2. H ousing (F in a n c ia l P ro v is io n s ) (S c o tla n d ) A ct, 1944.

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