§ 7. Miss Harvie Andersonasked the Minister of Public Building and Works whether he will now make a further statement on the current stockpiles of bricks.
§ Mr. BoydenBrick stocks at the end of June were about 815 million; a fall of about 50 million during the month.
§ Miss AndersonWill the hon. Gentleman realise the extent of public concern about this? This is the season when most building should be done, and bricks piling up in stockpiles cannot build the houses which are so badly needed.
§ Mr. BoydenYes, Sir. My right hon. Friend is very conscious of the difficulties which this creates for the brickmakers and for everybody else. We are doing our best to try to find some solution to the problem.
§ 8. Miss Harvie Andersonasked the Minister of Public Building and Works whether he will set out in the OFFICIAL REPORT a table showing the level of brick stocks at the end of every quarter since the cessation of hostilities in 1945.
§ Mr. BoydenYes, Sir.
§ Miss AndersonWill the hon. Gentleman draw this table to the attention of his right hon. Friend the Minister of Housing and Local Government and ask him whether one or other Minister could provide the public with an explanation of how to translate the promised planning into houses? It is very difficult for Members, and still more for the public, to appreciate what is happening.
§ Mr. BoydenThe table does not show anything very different from what happened in the past. For example, under Conservative Administrations in 1957, 1958, 1962 and 1963, there were considerable surpluses, and, worse, in the spring and summer of 1953, 1960 and 1964, there were serious shortages.
§ Following is the table:
| QUARTERLY LEVELS OF BRICK STOCKS IN GREAT BRITAIN 1945–1966 | |||||
| Millions | |||||
| Year | At end of first Quarter | At end of second Quarter | At end of third Quarter | At end of fourth Quarter | |
| 1945 | … | 1,173 | 1,187 | 1,157 | 990 |
| 1946 | … | 712 | 379 | 267 | 270 |
| 1947 | … | 379 | 307 | 259 | 348 |
| 1948 | … | 541 | 542 | 539 | 515 |
| 1949 | … | 448 | 291 | 190 | 179 |
| 1950 | … | 174 | 115 | 109 | 166 |
| 1951 | … | 214 | 159 | 146 | 184 |
| 1952 | … | 234 | 180 | 133 | 145 |
| 1953 | … | 114 | 79 | 75 | 99 |
| 1954 | … | 184 | 147 | 140 | 229 |
| 1955 | … | 378 | 233 | 149 | 188 |
| 1956 | … | 330 | 233 | 203 | 254 |
| 1957 | … | 385 | 316 | 280 | 385 |
| 1958 | … | 593 | 444 | 350 | 349 |
| 1959 | … | 417 | 177 | 92 | 114 |
| 1960 | … | 148 | 89 | 90 | 160 |
| 1961 | … | 198 | 122 | 105 | 213 |
| 1962 | … | 378 | 333 | 303 | 422 |
| 1963 | … | 912 | 567 | 322 | 263 |
| 1964 | … | 188 | 84 | 81 | 115 |
| 1965 | … | 151 | 154 | 233 | 561 |
| 1966 | … | 882 | 815 (*) | ||
| * Provisional. |
§ 14. Mr. Goodhartasked the Minister of Public Building and Works what representations he has received from the manufacturers of bricks on the need for extra credit to meet the cost of the stockpile of bricks.
§ Mr. BoydenThe National Federation of Clay Industries raised this question with my right hon. Friend in 1965. He told them that no special credit facilities could be granted, and this is still the case.
§ Mr. GoodhartDoes not the hon. Gentleman appreciate that throughout 1965 brickmakers' profits fell and that their bank overdrafts increased? How does he think they will get through this latest credit squeeze without having to cut back on production?
§ Mr. BoydenThe situation is serious for them, but I do not accept that all brickmakers have shown poor profits. Many have shown quite reasonable profits.