MILLIONS FOR- BUILDERS.

Taranaki Daily News, 28 February 1920, Page 12

MILLIONS FOR- BUILDERS.

London, Dec. 4. A free gift of millions of pounds is offered to -builders if they will build houses during the next twelve months. Every person who builds a. house—on approved lines—is to be paid a sum calculated on the cubic space in the house, up to £l5O a house. If he builds 200 houses he may receive £30,000; if he builds 500 he may be paid £75,000. Tlio Scottish crofter, the working man, the co-operative Society l , the private builder—any one who builds iv house—will have the money down. The number of houses on which subsidies are to be paid is limited to 100,000. If £l5O is paid on each tiie Chancellor of the Exchequer will have to find £'15,000,000. This free gift to every builder of a house was the striking fact that, was emphasised in the housing debate yesterday. The Government realise "the urgent necessity of securing the houses, and Mr. Lloyd George declared for subsidies against any other plan. Lord Robert Cecil suggested that the Government should lend money at a low rate of interest instead of giving subsidies. "Subsidies have this advantage," replied the Prime Minister; "vou have done with it, you have cut your loss" The new proposals were stated bv Dr. Addison, Minister of Health, who, in an hour and a-half's review of the housin" situation, declared that the Government scheme is not a failure, blamed Lord Downham, ex-President of the Local Government Board, for delay, and admitted the need for speeding up. The new arrangements include: Power to stop all luxury building; housing loans to be raised by municipalities to secure local money for local needs; fresh effort to bring more workers into the building trade; guarantee to building trade workers against suffering from unemployment caused by "dilution"; new system of costings, to avoid those" undue inflations of tender which are causing some local authorities to shrink from building; local authorities who fail to .draw up building schemes and begin work to be dealt with.