§ 19. Mr. P. Williamsasked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs what progress has been made with the introduction of factory-made houses.
§ Sir K. JosephMy Department knows of some 20 systems which offer good possibilities for building factory-made houses, as distinct from flats. About half of these will be contributing in quantity to next year's programme of local authority housing. The others are in the prototype stage.
§ Mr. WilliamsIs my right hon. Friend aware that I wish I could have heard his Answer, the obstruction coming, naturally,, from the Opposition? Can my right hon. Friend tell me how many orders have been placed thus far and whether he would consider the possibility of selecting one, two, three or more towns to carry out an experiment in this field so as to get the long runs which yesterday he said were necessary?
§ Sir K. JosephOrders to the tune of several thousand houses, as opposed to flats, have been placed and will be under construction during the coming 12 months. My right hon. Friend the Minister ofPublic Building and Works is using his investment powers to secure longer runs even than any local authority, although several very long runs have been ordered by local authorities in these systems.
§ Mr. WilliamsIs my right hon. Friend aware that theMinister of Public Building and Works yesterday mentioned a couple of companies which had been approved in this connection? Is it not rather unfair to mention a couple without mentioning the rest? Will not my right hon. Friend consider the possibility ofcirculating a list of the companies which are approved in this field?
§ Sir K. JosephMy Department is always ready to advise local authorities and private industry of the relative position of each of the systems under development. My right hon. Friend yesterday was, I think, blowing a mild trumpet for the Government's own prototype which is the 5M house.