§ 24. Mr. Manuelasked the Secretary of State for Scotland the total number of rooms provided in municipal houses completed during 1952; and what was the total number of rooms provided in the year 1950.
Commander GalbraithI regret that this information is not available, and to obtain it would involve a special return from local authorities which my right hon. Friend would not feel justified in calling for.
§ Mr. ManuelIf that answer is correct, why was the right hon. and gallant Gentleman, in the housing debate in the Scottish Grand Committee last Session, able to quote the numbers of rooms for other years but not those for which I am asking? It seems that he is evading the answer, for it would show that while fewer houses were built in the period that the Labour Party were in office, we built more rooms than in the year when the hon. and gallant Member's party were in office, although they built more houses.
Commander GalbraithMy information is accurate. The official returns of houses completed do not show the number of rooms per house. I can, however, give the numbers of houses approved in the two years and the numbers of rooms in them. In 1950, 25,689 houses were approved; that is, approximately 94,000 rooms. In 1952, the number of houses approved was 28,481, or approximately 98,000 rooms. But I point out to the hon. Member—
§ Mr. ManuelThat does not mean a thing.
Commander Galbraith—that the total number of rooms is not a good measure of housing output. The amount of plumbing and drainage, for example, does not vary with the number of rooms. There is as much work in that respect in a house with two rooms as in a house with five rooms.