HC Deb 15 March 1965 vol 708 cc860-1
5. Mr. Costain

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works if he will make a statement on the percentage increase of productivity on new works in the building industry for the last four quarters for which the figures are available.

24. Mr. Heffer

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works what has been the percentage increase in productivity in the building industry on new works for the last four quarters for which figures are available.

34. Mrs. Renée Short

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works if he will make a statement about the percentage productivity increase on new building in the last available four quarters.

Mr. Boyden

Provisional figures suggest that the output per operative of contractors' labour employed on new work increased in 1964 overall by about 6 per cent. The figures for the individual quarters were:

1st Quarter … -4 per cent.
2nd Quarter … +8 per cent.
3rd Quarter … No Change
4th Quarter … +2 per cent.

Mr. Costain

Has the Minister got the comparable figures for direct labour?

Mr. Boyden

No, Sir.

Mr. Heffer

Is my hon. Friend aware that, from the point of view of direct labour—and I have had some experience of this both as an operative and as the chairman of a direct works department—direct labour departments in large cities use the most modern methods of construction, whereas in many cases the large building firms do not use these methods?

Mr. Boyden

Yes, Sir, but the difficulty in comparing the work which direct labour departments do with new work is that the latter do mixed forms of work—maintenance and things of that kind—which makes the figures almost impossible to compare.

Mrs. Short

Would my hon. Friend agree that productivity in the building industry is largely a question of the kind of management which it has? What steps does he intend to take to see that management in the building industry is improved? Will he see, in particular, that engineers and people technically qualified get jobs in management as against architects—[HON. MEMBERS: "Oh.")—I am sorry; I meant to say accountants and solicitors, who have no technological training and background?

Mr. Boyden

Management is a very important factor, and a great deal is going on to encourage management to improve itself by way of education, oganisation and so on.