§ 19. Sir D. Robertsonasked the Secretary of State for Scotland the average length of time taken to build a traditional type house in the Caithness County Council area since 1945; and how this time compares with the average time in other Scottish counties excluding burgh areas.
§ Mr. J. StuartI regret that the information cannot be provided in the form desired. Houses completed by Caithness County Council during December, 1951, took on average 91 weeks to build compared with 77 weeks for traditional houses completed by other county councils in the same month.
§ Sir D. RobertsonMay I ask my right hon. Friend to make an inquiry into the housing situation in this county because they are going backwards and production is impaired? Will he also consider whether the insistence by his Department on the cheapest tender being accepted is not one of the causes for the hold-up, inasmuch as some contractors are getting far more than they can do?
§ Mr. StuartI am doing everything possible to speed up the completion, and if my hon. Friend has any particular points to put to me, I shall be very glad to hear them.