§ We therefore propose to fix a total for the housing programme upon a more stabilised basis to which the rest of the capital investment programme will have to conform. For the three years 1950–52 therefore we have decided that the programme for Great Britain should be at the completion rate of 200,000 houses a year. [HoN. MEMBERS: "Not enough."] The continuing urgent need for houses, which is a symptom of the better standards of living that the people are now enjoying, makes it desirable, we believe, that housing should be given this special preferential place in our capital investment programme. We are therefore reverting to the rate of completions originally envisaged in last year's programme before the cuts were introduced last autumn. I believe this to be fully 52 justified in the light of the results of the past three months.