Britain: An official handbook > 1956

XI. HOUSING AND
PLANNING
PROBLEMS AND ADMINISTRATION
The problems of housing and of planning the use of land in Britain have their
origins mainly in the sevenfold expansion of the population in the last two and a
half centuries and its concentration in industrial urban areas. This gave rise to
overcrowding in the older houses in the centres of cities and to the unplanned
spread of outer suburbs. Overcrowding persisted in spite of a high rate of building
in the nineteen-thirties and was aggravated by the second world war which left
behind increased needs and new opportunities for housing and planning. New
building had virtually ceased for six years, while the United Kingdom population
had risen by nearly i£ million; meanwhile, approximately one house in every three
had been destroyed or damaged by enemy action.1
Ministerial Responsibility for Housing and Planning
The Minister of Housing and Local Government is responsible in England and
Wales for formulating housing policy, for housing standards and for general super¬
vision of the housing programme. In planning, the Minister is responsible for
implementing general policy regarding the use and development of land throughout
England and Wales, and for the direction and guidance of local planning authori¬
ties, the New Towns Development Corporations and the National Parks Com¬
mission in the carrying out of their planning functions.
In Scotland the same responsibilities fall on the Secretary of State for Scotland.
In Northern Ireland the Minister of Health and Local Government is responsible
for housing and planning.
The Ministry of Works acts as production authority in Great Britain for certain
building materials and equipment; it is responsible for general building efficiency
and for relations with the building industry, and it is primarily responsible for keep¬
ing building research under review. The Ministry of Labour and National Service
is concerned with the supply of labour to the building industry and its ancillary
trades; and the Building Apprenticeship and Training Council reviews the
industry’s long-term labour needs and the measures necessary to maintain the
skilled labour force. The Agricultural Departments are responsible for advising on
the agricultural value of land proposed for housing or other development. rl he
Board of Trade is responsible for regulating the distribution of industrial develop¬
ment. An Inter-Departmental Committee on Services’ Land Requirements meets
to harmonize Service and civilian needs and proposals for land use.
HOUSING
The census of April 1951 showed that 14-5 million private households in Great
Britain were occupying 13 "3 million houses and flats. These figures do not imply a
need for exactly 1 ‘2 million new dwellings, but they give an indication of the size
1 In 1941 a scheme of payment for damage by enemy action to land and buildings in the
United Kingdom was set up and the War Damage Commission was appointed to
administer it.
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