§ 19. Mr. Frank Allaunasked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs what was the nature of his reply to the letter of the Institute of Municipal Building Management asking that direct labour departments be encouraged by permission to engage in prefabrication, so as to ensure that workers be consistently employed in the depressed areas, and that the Institute be asked to nominate representatives to meetings convened to determine national building policies.
§ Mr. CorfieldThe Institute's letter was based on a number of misunderstandings. I have sent the hon. Member a copy of the reply which was sent to them on 20th February.
§ Mr. AllaunI thank the hon. Gentleman for that letter, but in view of the great success of direct labour at Sheffield, Salford, Wigan, Stoke-on-Trent, St. Pancras, St. Helen's and a number of other places such as Barking and Manchester, will he point out to local authorities dealing exclusively with maintenance rather than building the speed and other advantages of undertaking prefabricated building through their own departments?
§ Mr. CorfieldThis is a matter for the local authorities to decide for themselves. As I think the hon. Gentleman realises, no permission is required from my right hon. Friend. Again as I think he realises, the experimental prefabricated housing in Sheffield, built for my Ministry, was built by the city's direct labour department.