23. Disinfection of Bedding, &c.-Another matter to which the Inspector referred was the practice of removing to the new houses the bedding and other belongings taken from the slum houses. In several of the new houses visited bugs were already in evidence, and in such cases the bedding, &c. were invariably found to be in a very dirty condition, having apparently been brought in that condition straight to the new houses. Steps should be taken by the Sanitary Department of the local authority to have the bedding and other belongings of the tenants thoroughly disinfected before being removed to the new houses, and this suggestion is being communicated to the local authorities.

Reference has frequently been made to the difficulty of getting tenants to remove from the slum areas to the new houses. As illustrative of the attraction which their old haunts and associations have for the former slum dwellers, the Inspector was informed that, in one of the schemes visited, some of the tenants were in the habit of leaving about 9 a.m. to spend the day in their old neighbourhood and did not return home till late at night.

In many of the houses visited it was apparent that there was very little money for anything but the barest necessities, but many of the tenants were hopeful that if only work could be obtained better times would be in store for them, which would enable them to appreciate the improved housing conditions. Some of the poorest homes were scrupulously clean and reflected great credit on the housewife. It is reasonable to anticipate that with improved industrial conditions and helpful supervision on the part of those responsible for looking after the housing schemes, a general improvement in the condition of the tenants and of the houses will ultimately be achieved.

MISCELLANEOUS.

24. Payment of Exchequer Subsidy.-The amounts of the subsidies paid during the year 1926 in respect of houses erected by local authorities, private enterprise, public utility societies and district boards of control were as follows:

Housing, Town Planning, &c. (Scotland) Act, 1919.

25. Public Utility Societies.-The table on page 38 shews that 421 houses were provided by public utility societies under the scheme of the Act of 1919. Of these, 194 houses have been sold.

Section 3 of the Housing, &c. Act, 1923, provides that in respect of houses constructed by a society, body of trustees or company, the Department may pay direct to the society a subsidy of the like amount as they are authorised to pay in respect of houses constructed by local authorities under the Act. In terms of this section a scheme by the Kinlochleven Village Improvement Society for the erection of 60 houses at Kinlochmore, Argyllshire, has been approved. At the end of the year 46 of these houses were completed.

Section 3 (2) of the Housing (Financial Provisions) Act, 1924, provides that the increased subsidy offered by this Act may similarly be paid to societies in respect of houses which are subject to the special conditions prescribed in the section. Under this section the erection of seven houses by the Scottish Garden City Housing Society, Limited, at Bonnyrigg and 20 houses by the Bleachers' Association Garden Villages, Limited, at Arthurlie and Neilston has been approved.

26. Rents Tribunal.-This Tribunal deals only with rents under the scheme of the Act of 1919. One case was submitted for decision during the year. It referred to 32 houses erected by the Central District Committee of Stirlingshire at East Plean. The rents to be charged for these houses had been the subject of a previous reference to the Tribunal in 1922, when they were fixed at £19 for three-apartment houses, £23: 10s. for fourapartment houses, and £28 for five-apartment houses. After considering the second reference, the Tribunal decided that no circumstances had arisen since the question was previously under consideration which would warrant any alteration of the rents fixed by them in 1922.

27. Local Housing Bonds.-During the year, in view of the provisions of the consolidating Housing (Scotland) Act, 1925, we re-issued the Local Bonds Regulations. The general rate of

interest on these Bonds fixed by the Treasury was raised from 4 per cent. to 5 per cent. as from 1st August, 1926.

28. Direct Assistance to Private Enterprise.-In last year's Report the names were given of nine local authorities which, in terms of Section 9 of the Housing (Financial Provisions) Act, 1924, had been certified as having failed to adopt proposals for the assistance of private builders with the aid of subsidies. No other local authorities were so certified during the year, but the arrangements under which the Board pays annual subsidy direct to private builders in the nine areas referred to have continued in operation. At the end of the year plans had been approved for the erection of 65 houses, 25 of which had been completed.

29. Provision of Baths.-Houses built under the provisions of the Housing, &c. Act, 1923, or the Housing (Financial Provisions) Act, 1924, must, except with the special consent of the Department, be provided with a bath in a bathroom. Owing to the inadequate water and drainage facilities available in the cases concerned, consent was given during the year to the omission of a bath in 65 different houses.

30. Sale of Houses.-During the year consent was given in terms of Section 45 (1) (d) of the Housing (Scotland) Act, 1925, to the sale by the burgh of Grangemouth of eight houses erected by them under the provisions of the Housing, &c. Act, 1923. Consent was given also to the sale by the following local authorities of houses erected by them under the Housing (Financial Provisions) Act, 1924, viz. :-Peebles burgh, 11 houses; Greenock, 4 houses; Forfar burgh, 4 houses. As these houses were not sold subject to the special conditions contained in Section 3 of the latter Act, the Exchequer subsidy payable to the local authority on the houses sold will be limited to £6 per house per annum for 20 years. Consent was also given to the sale of 502 houses built by the Corporation of Glasgow under a house-purchase scheme. Of these houses 272 were erected with the aid of subsidy under the Housing, &c. Act, 1923, and the remainder, which were outwith the limits of size imposed for subsidy purposes, were erected without State assistance.

31. Compulsory acquisition of uninhabitable House.-The local authority of the burgh of Peebles desired to acquire for housing purposes the site of an uninhabitable house, and as they could not trace the owner they made an order for the compulsory acquisition of the property. No objections having been received, the order was confirmed after an inspection of the property by one of the Housing Inspectors.

32. Subsidence due to Mineral Workings.-During the year the local authority of the Middle Ward District of Lanarkshire received intimation from an Iron Company to the effect that their mineral workings were approaching one of the sites on which houses had been erected by the local authority. The Company

enquired whether the local authority, with a view to protecting the houses from the effect of subsidence, desired to acquire the minerals under the site. The houses erected are of the flatted type and are, in accordance with the recommendation in the report of the mining engineer when the site was selected, provided with concrete foundations. In view of the terms of reports obtained from the mining engineers subsequent to the erection of the houses, as to the damage likely to accrue if the minerals under the site were worked, and in view of the fact that there was no provision in the deed of conveyance of the ground under which the local authority could claim compensation for damage due to mineral workings, we were reluctantly compelled to agree to the purchase by the local authority of the minerals necessary for the support of the site. This entailed an addition of £2,500 to the capital cost of the scheme, or about £28 per house.

33. Proceedings taken by Local Authorities under the Housing Acts.-Returns were obtained from local authorities shewing the action taken by them during the year under the Housing Acts for the purpose of remedying or closing defective houses, together with information as to the provision of water supply to houses in county areas, provision of water-closets or earth-closets for houses in these areas, and the extent to which houses of less than three apartments had been erected. These returns have been summarised, and the appropriate particulars have been printed in Appendix I.

34. Final Measurements.-Reference was made in last year's Report to the work in connection with the examination of the final measurements of schemes carried out under the Act of 1919. Steady progress has been made during the past year with this work. A rough idea of the progress made to 31st December, 1926, can be obtained by comparing the amount of the tenders approved (£22,981,938) with the amount of the final measurements approved (£12,974,631). A large number of final measurements have not yet been submitted for approval, and during the year in certain cases steps were taken to expedite the submission of the measurements.

During the year the saving to the Exchequer effected by the examination of final measurements amounted to approximately £74,000, making a total saving to the end of 1926 of £304,000.

35. Rosyth. In the last Report reference was made to the possible surplus of houses at Rosyth, consequent upon the reduction of the Naval dockyard to a care and maintenance basis. As the year advanced the number of empty houses rose rapidly, and by the end of February had reached 270. It became clear that, if outside tenants were to be attracted to these houses, some modification was necessary on the existing arrangement under which tenants not in Admiralty employment had to pay a rent 43 per cent. over that payable by Admiralty tenants. A valuation was accordingly obtained from the Valuation Department, and as a result the concurrence of the Treasury was secured

to the let of empty houses to outside tenants at the rents payable by Admiralty employees. The effect was most satisfactory. As the year advanced the number of tenantless houses declined, until at the end of the year no difficulty was being experienced in letting all houses as they fell vacant.

No new constructional work was commenced during the year. The new offices for the staff of the Housing Company were completed early in the year and occupied.

TOWN PLANNING.

36. Procedure Regulations.-In last year's Report reference was made to the fact that amended Regulations prescribing the procedure to be followed in the preparation of town planning schemes were under consideration. These Regulations, which were entitled "The Town Planning Procedure Regulations (Scotland), 1926," were issued to local authorities along with an explanatory circular on 23rd July, 1926. The new Regulations incorporated certain legislative provisions with regard to town planning which had become law since the issue of the previous Regulations in 1911. An attempt was made in the new Regulations to simplify to some extent the procedure required before a town planning scheme is brought to the stage of final approval.

37. Conference with Local Authorities.-Section 3 of the Town Planning (Scotland) Act, 1925, provides that burghal local authorities having a population, according to the 1921 census, of more than 20,000 must, before 1st January, 1929, prepare and submit a town planning scheme with regard to all land within their district in regard to which a town planning scheme may be made. With a view to affording an opportunity of an interchange of views on matters relating to the preparation of schemes, representatives of the local authorities referred to above and of other local authorities were invited to meet the President of the Board in Edinburgh on 30th November, 1926. Owing to the complexity of the subject and the limited time at the disposal of the Conference, the discussion was necessarily of a very general character, and it was not possible to establish any agreed methods for proceeding with the preparation of schemes or to examine detailed proposals for individual areas. The Conference, however, served a useful purpose, and will tend to stimulate interest in the subject generally. All the representatives seemed to be agreed on two points :-(1) that the tendency in the past was to attempt to include too much detail in town-planning schemes. Better progress would be made in future if schemes were prepared on broad lines, leaving the details to be filled in as development proceeded; (2) that goodwill and co-operation between local authorities are essential to the making of a successful scheme. This co-operation is particularly desirable in the case of local authorities whose areas are situated in widely