54

THE  HOUSING  QUESTION

Let  us  first  investigate  the  credentials  of  the  critics.
There  was,  not  so  long  ago,  an  investigation  by  a
Government  Committee*  of  the  finance  of  those
companies  who  make  it  their  business  to  insure  poor
people  and  the  working  classes.  That  Committee
reported  that,  for  every  £i  paid  in  by  the  insured
persons  in  premium,  about  nine  shillings  never  came
back  to  them  in  benefits,  but  were  eaten  up  in  the
running  expenses  of  the  Companies  and  their  profits,
very  largely  accruing  through  lapsed  policies.
Now  let  us  compare  with  this  45  per  cent,  of  total
income  spent  in  overhead  charges  and  profit  the  cost
of  the  whole  of  the  regional  Housing  officials  set  to
work  by  the  Government  in  1919,  to  represent  the
taxpayer  throughout  Britain  and  to  urge  on,  supervise
and  control  the  building  of  the  first  200,000  houses.
This  cost,  according  to  a  reply  in  the  Commons  by  the
Minister  in  1921,  was  £323,647  a  year.  As  far  as  one
can  ascertain  this  worked  out  at  from  £3  to  £5  per
house  built,  i.e.,  less  than  half  of  one  per  cent.—
proportionally  one  hundredth  part  of  what  business  men
appear  to  charge  for  their  overhead  expenses  in  insurance  !
Nor  is  this  the  whole  story.  It  is  a  fact  that  the
Government  housing  officials,  through  their  close
technical  supervision  of  plans,  estimates,  tenders  and
contracts,  saved  an  amount  per  house  to  the  taxpayer
vastly  exceeding  the  few  pounds  their  service  cost.
*  The  Parmoor  Departmental  Committee  of  the  Board  of  Trade
which  reported  on  19th  February,  1920,  Cmd.  6x4.  The  present
Government  have  done  nothing  to  remedy  the  criminal  state  of
things  shown  up  by  this  Committee  two  years  ago.