asked the Minister of Health whether he will direct an inquiry into the circumstances under which as many as 60 permanent houses out of 90 for which he had approved tenders for the Prescot Urban District Council were completed within 12 months, in order that the methods employed may be applied to the housing schemes of the other local authorities in the parliamentary division of Widnes.

The Prescot Urban District Council are to be commended on the prompt start they made in housing, and this explains their good progress; the other local authorities referred to are in general making satisfactory progress now.

Does not my right hon. Friend agree that the performance is even better than these figures appear to indicate, having regard to the small size of the district, and is not that clue at least to the fact that there has been no excessive licensing of private speculative building by this authority?

I think that is certainly the case, and it quite often happens that many local authorities are now having difficulties with their housing programme because they were far too liberal with licences earlier.