§ 24 and 25. Sir W. Darlingasked the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) what has been the cost of each type of house, including the house completely finished with all services, administrative expenses, plans and fees, on the Scottish Special Housing Association's direct labour scheme at Harthill;
(2) when site preparation work started at Harthill; and how many houses are now occupied.
Mr. McNeilSite preparation at Harthill started in May, 1948. Up to date, 100 houses have been occupied and 96 are under construction. Altogether, 256 houses are to be built at this site, and it is not possible to give final costs of each type of house until the whole scheme is completed. Preliminary indications are that, particularly with the introduction of incentive schemes about a year ago, final prices will compare favourably with current contractors' prices.
§ Sir W. DarlingIs the Secretary of State satisfied that this experiment, upon which so much hope was based, has been entirely satisfactory, since it commenced in 1948 and is not yet completed?
Mr. McNeilI am never satisfied unless any experiment completely yields the results we need, but I think that this experiment is not discouraging.
§ Mr. BossomCan the Secretary of State explain why he cannot give the price, since no builder in the world would ever go on building houses without knowing what they cost? Surely, the right hon. Gentleman must know the figure?
Mr. McNeilIt would be hard indeed for me to attempt to teach the hon. Gentleman the technicalities of this business, but I suggest that out of a scheme of 200 he would not offer the price of one completed house as a firm commercial undertaking. If there were 200 houses, he would offer the overall price for the 200