HC Deb 20 March 1956 vol 550 cc971-2
1. Mr. H. Wilson

asked the Minister of Works if he will give an estimate of the percentage increase in new private office building between 1953 and 1955.

The Minister of Works (Mr. Patrick Buchan-Hepburn)

As separate statistics for various types of private building are not now collected, I can give only a very rough estimate, which is that expenditure on private office building in 1955 was about three and a half times that in 1953.

Mr. Wilson

Does the right hon. Gentleman not feel that it is bad enough to have no control over this inessential building without having no figures about it? Since the right hon. Gentleman estimates it at three and half times the increase, will he not agree that this building, much of which is speculative and possibly highly inessential, is one of the major contributory factors to the inflation?

Mr. Buchan-Hepburn

All these general matters were fully discussed in the debate on 21st February. The right hon. Gentleman asked me for an estimate of the percentage increase. Perhaps I might explain that the expenditure on private office building in 1953 was about 1 per cent. of the total output of all new work and that the corresponding figure for 1955—because there is much more building, in general—is only 2.7 per cent.