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Written Answers

HOUSE OF COMMONS

Brookwood Mental Hospital

75. Mr. Nicholson asked the Minister of Health what steps he is taking to avoid a complete breakdown at Brookwood Mental Hospital owing to the grave shortage of staff.

Mr. Bevan: Active steps are being taken, in co-operation with the Ministry of Labour, to relieve the nursing situa- tion at Brookwood Mental Hospital by the appointment of ward orderlies and by recruitment of additional nursing staff. The matter is receiving special attention from the Regional Hospital Board's officers and I am advised that there is no question of a breakdown in the service.

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76. Mr. Nicholson asked the Minister of Health if he will give the number of female patients and female nurses Brookwood Mental Hospital; and state how far the number of female nurses falls short of establishment.

Mr. Bevan: The number of female patients is 704; the number of nursing staff, apart from ward orderlies, is 79. The normal establishment for the hospi- tal is 174 nurses but at present 500 beds are not in use.

Tuberculosis Sanatoria (Waiting Lists)

83. Mr. Platts-Mills asked the Minister of Health whether he is aware that there is an average delay of nine months for patients awaiting admission to tubercu- losis sanatoria; and what steps he is taking to remedy this state of affairs.

Mr. Bevan: The delay varies from a few days to several months, according to the circumstances of each case. It is due to shortage of nurses, and everything possible is being done to recruit them.

Spectacles Supply

Mr. Paget asked the Minister of Health whether he is aware that people in Northampton are suffering great delay in the supply of glasses; and what steps he proposes to take to accelerate the manu- facture of these articles.

Mr. Bevan: I am aware of some diffi- culties, though not specially in Northamp- ton. Increased production is under dis- cussion with the manufacturers.

Written Answers

PUBLIC HEALTH

Measles Serum

33. Dr. S. Jeger asked the Minister of Health whether he is aware of the great difficulty in obtaining measules serum in this country; and what steps he is taking to mitigate the shortage.

Mr. Bevan: I am not aware of any shortage. Supplies can be got through the Public Health Laboratory Service.

Refugee Dental Practitioners

67. Mr. Bartlett asked the Minister of Health why permission to practise in this country is still withheld from 33 dentists, refugees from Nazi oppression, now naturalised and living in this country.

Mr. Bevan: The conditions on which foreign trained dentists may practise in this country are prescribed by the Dentists' Acts, and the duty of ensuring that these conditions are fulfilled rests with the General Medical Council.

Public Assistance Institutions

70. Colonel Stoddart-Scott asked the Minister of Health what instructions he has given to local authorities with regard to the accommodation of homeless families in public assistance institutions; what directions he has issued to separate husbands and families; and if he has laid down any maximum time for this home-splitting arrangement.

Mr. Bevan: I have drawn the atten- tion of local authorities to their duty under Section 21 (1) (b) of the National Assistance Act to provide temporary accommodation in certain circumstances of urgency. I have issued no direction as to the separation of husbands and families, which I deprecate.

Private Street Works, Weymouth

77. Viscount Hinchingbrooke asked the Minister of Health whether he is aware of the deterioration of a number of private roads and streets in the Borough of Weymouth and whether, in view of the growing danger to public health and risk of personal injury he will now authorise the borough council to carry out the necessary repairs.

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Written Answers

9 DECEMBER 1948

Mr. Bevan : I can only authorise works on private streets where their con- dition is really dangerous; within this limitation I am prepared to consider proposals from local authorities.

London Workhouses (Children)

Mr. Platts-Mills asked the Minister of Health how many children in age groups of under 5, 5-11 and 11-16 respectively, are included in the 163 families at present lodged in London workhouses.

Mr. Bevan : Of the children of families accommodated on 1st December, 1948, 179 were under age 5, 75 between the ages of 5 and 11 and 15 between the ages of 11 and 16.

HOUSING

Glasgow (Statistics)

69. Mr. Carmichael asked the Minister of Health if he is aware that according to the Housing Return for Scotland, dated 30th September, 1948, Glasgow has completed 4,329 permanent and 2,512 temporary houses, a total of 6,841; and how these figures compare with reason- ably comparable towns in England.

Mr. Bevan: I would refer the hon. Member to the Housing Return for England and Wales, 30th September, 1948, (Cmd. 7552),

Re-Housing

the 72. Brigadier Medlicott asked Minister of Health if he will encourage local authorities when allocating new council houses to allocate as many as possible to families who are temporarily housed, so as to prevent occupants of such temporary houses from feeling that their occupation of such accommodation is being prolonged indefinitely.

Mr. Bevan: I have asked the Central Housing Advisory Committee to consider what further advice should be given to local authorities on the allocation of their housing accommodation.

Solid Fuel Apparatus

78. Mr. Philips Price asked the Minis- ter of Health, in view of his recent deci- sion to enforce the installation of nothing but approved and scientific solid fuel

Written Answers

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burning apparatus in new houses, what steps he proposes to take to ensure the early replacement of inefficient apparatus in existing houses.

Mr. Bevan: I would refer my hon. Friend to paragraph 4 of Circular 170/48 of which I am sending him a copy.

Circular 171/48

82. Mr. Sharp asked the Minister of Health whether he is aware that circular 171/48 does not ask local authorities to ensure that the information given on in- dividual applications for a council house is brought up to date before submitting the return to his Department; and whether he will urge local authorities to arrange for this to be done, especially in the case of old applications.

Mr. Bevan: Yes. This is a matter which I think can be left to the local authorities.

Requisitioning Circulars

Sir R. Glyn asked the Minister of Health if he will give the reference to the circular issued to local authorities in which advice was given that legal action to obtain possession of requisitioned premises should not be taken without the authority of his Department; and, as this limitation of freedom of action by rural district councils and others in regard to adjusting housing matters within their districts is not in the best interests of the public, what was the reason for issuing such instructions.

Mr. Bevan: It is within the discretion of the local authorities to take proceed- ings to recover the possession of requi- sitioned property. Circular 2747, a copy of which I am sending to the hon. Mem- ber makes this clear. For technical reasons, however, it is my practice to issue, on request, a formal authorisation to enable the local authority to commence proceedings in its own name in a par- ticular case.

NATIONAL FINANCE Company Dividends

52. Mr. S. Shephard asked the Chan- cellor of the Exchequer what percentage of public companies have observed the voluntary standstill on dividend limita- tion since his request was made.

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