78 
THE HOUSING QUESTION 
of a Local Authority, in conjunction with the Housing 
or Health Committee, through the protracted stages 
of negotiation for and valuation of land, consideration 
of alternative plans, questions of compensation, ob 
taining of tenders, and the discussion with and approval 
by the Ministry of all these stages up to signing of 
contracts with builders, would be two years. If the 
Government had ever been in earnest they would have 
encouraged Local Authorities everywhere to begin 
working out these details, so that they might be ready 
to carry out the clearances by the time sufficient new 
houses had been erected. 
(b) The removal of the review of all slum-clearance 
schemes from the Ministry’s Regional Headquarters 
to Whitehall. The Ministry’s technical and ad 
ministrative staff in London is totally inadequate in 
numbers to cope with any real volume of slum-clearance 
schemes. They would be choked in the bottle-neck. 
(c) The gross disproportion between the number 
of unfit houses, schemes for the demolition of which 
have up to date been confirmed by the Ministry, and 
the need of the Country. 
And, most important of all:— 
(d) The stoppage of contracts for more new houses. 
The Ministry have deliberately excluded in their 
revised statement of needs any houses to replace 
unfit ones. The argument therefore runs thus : 
Slum-Dwellers : “ When will you clear our slums ? " 
Minister of Health :—“ When we have built 
houses we can move you to.”