HC Deb 17 December 1963 vol 686 cc1015-6
2. Mr. Boyden

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works what progress his Department has made in assessing the cost of repairs and maintenance as a percentage of the total building costs for different methods of construction used in Government contracts.

The Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Public Building and Works (Mr. Richard Sharples)

Figures of maintenance expenditure are available for traditional office buildings and a start has been made with the collection of figures for industrialised buildings.

Mr. Boyden

Can the hon. Gentleman say when this work began, and what type of special building materials it covers? Secondly, can he say whether he will publish the results of this investigation?

Mr. Sharples

The collection of this material has been going on for many years. I do not think that it would be possible to publish it, because each case has to be judged separately on its own merits. What the architects do in designing new buildings is to take into account the experience that has been gained.

Mr. Boyden

But does not the hon. Gentleman recollect that the United Nations, which did a European study of the question, said that, generally speaking, these kinds of statistics were not accurate, and that not enough attention was paid to the subject? If this is not published in a White Paper, or in a similar document, how is the industry to take note of it?

Mr. Sharples

I repeat that each case must be judged on its individual merits. What we are doing in respect of industrialised building is to collect figures which will be used in designing new buildings of this kind.