§ 8. Mr. Mikardoasked the President of the Board of Trade what value of factory building was authorised from 1st January, 1952, to the latest convenient date; and what was the value authorised in the same period in 1951.
§ Mr. P. ThorneycroftThe estimated value of Industrial Development Certificates granted by the Board of Trade for new factory buildings and extension exceeding 5,000 sq. ft. fell from £54 million in the first half of 1951 to £28.7 million in the first half of 1952, as the result of a substantial fall in applications. But, as the hon. Member is aware, figures indicating the value of Industrial Development Certificates granted do not measure the value of building licensed or of work started in the periods to which they relate.
I understand from my right hon. Friend the Minister of Works that the value of new industrial building licences issued by his Department for the first six months of 1951 was £68 million compared with £60.7 million in the first half of 1952.
§ Mr. MikardoWill the right hon. Gentleman send this information about the decline of factory building to the Minister of Housing and Local Government, who told a quite different story to a lot of gullible people at Scarborough?
§ Mr. ThorneycroftI do not think that the Minister of Housing and Local Government has said anything which is inconsistent with this answer.