§ 40. Major GLYNasked the Secretary for Scotland what is the total sum so far raised in Scotland by housing bonds; how much of this has been already expended; what expectation is there of the remaining sums required being raised as a result of local effort; and what are the alternative methods suggested to provide the money for the construction of the necessary houses?
§ The SECRETARY for SCOTLAND (Mr. Munro)At the 30th September last the sum of £1,063,191 had been raised for housing purposes in Scotland by means of housing bonds. As local authorities are borrowing by other means than housing bonds, it is not practicable to state how much of the money raised by these bonds has been expended to date. I fear I cannot give any reliable estimate of the further sums which may be raised by moans of local effort. I may say, however, that, as a result of consultation between the Scottish Board of Health and the Scottish Savings Committee, it has been arranged that a campaign should be initiated for the purpose of promoting the sale of national savings certificates in Scotland and that half of the gross proceeds of these sales in each area should be credited to the Local Loans Fund and made available to the local authorities of each area for housing purposes. This arrangement is now in operation.
§ 41. Major GLYNasked the Secretary for Scotland what progress has been made up to date in the construction of the 103,000 houses contained in the schemes submitted by local authorities and sanctioned and approved by the Scottish Office at the end of last July; how many other local authorities, in addition to the 253 who had submitted 1539 schemes up to the end of July, have had their schemes passed by the Scottish Office; what is the estimated total cost of these schemes; and what money is available to meet these expenses?
§ Mr. MUNROAt the 15th October there were 5,156 permanent houses and 254 temporary houses under construction. In addition, 260 permanent houses and 182 temporary houses were occupied as at that date, and 67 houses were completed and ready for occupancy. Up to date, 263 local authorities have submitted schemes for the provision of 115,531 houses, and of these, 219 schemes, involving 106,058 houses, have been approved by the Scottish Board of Health. As stated in my reply to my hon. and gallant Friend's question of the 7th July, no reliable estimate can be framed of the total cost of the schemes submitted. In regard to the last part of the question, I would refer my hon. and gallant Friend to my answer to his previous question.
§ 42. Major GLYNasked the Secretary for Scotland how many persons belonging to the various branches of the building trades are now employed upon housing schemes approved by the Scottish Office in Scotland; how many persons are required to carry these schemes through within a reasonable period of time; what is the estimated cost of the average house as a separate building; and what proportion of this sum represents the cost of labour?
§ Mr. MUNROAccording to recent returns received by the Scottish Board of Health, there were employed on State-assisted housing schemes in Scotland as at 15th October: 829 masons and bricklayers, 614 joiners, 1,138 workmen of other skilled trades, including apprentices, and 2,074 unskilled workmen. On the basis that two men are required to complete one house per annum, 32,000 men are necessary to complete in a year the 16,000 houses for which tenders have been approved by the Board to date. The estimated cost of the average house, so far as that can be ascertained from tenders approved, is roughly £1,000. The cost of labour represented in the total cost of a house is estimated at approximately 52 per cent.