The Burt Committee was a working party set up by the government of the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

to provide guidance on the housing shortage. The committee was chaired by Sir George Burt. The committee had the correct title of the ''Interdepartmental Committee on House Construction''. It was established in September 1942 by the Minister of Health, the Minister of Works and the Secretary of State for Scotland. The committee was briefed to consider which methods and materials would be most cost-effective and efficient for providing houses after war damage in

The Blitz The Blitz (English: "flash") was a Nazi Germany, German bombing campaign against the United Kingdom, for eight months, from 7 September 1940 to 11 May 1941, during the Second World War. Towards the end of the Battle of Britain in 1940, a co ...

and

slum clearance Slum clearance, slum eviction or slum removal is an urban renewal strategy used to transform low-income settlements with poor reputation into another type of development or housing. This has long been a strategy for redeveloping urban communities; ...

had left many homeless. The committee favoured prefabricated housing as a solution to the problems, and their recommendations resulted in the Housing (Temporary Accommodation) Act 1944, which itself resulted in the Emergency Factory Made programme.

Sources

DTi Report on prefabricated buildings

Brief history of government housing policy

References

Housing in the United Kingdom 1942 establishments in the United Kingdom 1947 disestablishments in the United Kingdom Committees of the United Kingdom Cabinet Office {{UK-poli-stub