§ LORD HYLTONasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they are aware of the recent forecast by the Building and Civil Engineering Economic Development 1273WA Committee that completions of new council houses will be 14,000 less in 1972 than in 1971 and will decline by 10,000 per year in 1973 and 1974; and whether they will take measures over and above those proposed in the Housing Finance Bill, in view of acute housing shortages in London and elsewhere, and of the continued existence of slums, multiple occupation, obsolete and inadequate housing.
§ THE PARLIAMENTARY UNDER-SECRETARY OF STATE, DEPARTMENT OF THE ENVIRONMENT (LORD SANDFORD)My right honourable friend the Secretary of State is aware of the forecasts. He has repeatedly urged housing authorities with acute problems to build to meet their needs. One result, even without the fairer subsidy distribution envisaged in the Housing Finance Bill, is an 8 per cent. increase in public sector starts in Greater London in 1971 over 1970, with a comparable figure of 27 per cent. in Birmingham. Unlike the previous Administration, the Government set no limit on the amount that local authorities may borrow to build houses. The reform of housing finance will give con-1274WA siderable further help to the authorities whose problems are greatest, including a major new incentive for slum clearance.