HC Deb 19 July 1966 vol 732 cc355-7
12. Mrs. Renee Short

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government if he will make a statement about the latest housing returns.

Mr. Crossman

The total number of houses completed in Great Britain in May was up on April and also on May last year. Completions during the first five months of the year were down on the same months of 1965, mainly because of a shortfall in the private sector.

Mrs. Short

In order to reach the housing target, will my right hon. Friend consider setting up a publicly-owned housing corporation, similar to that which exists in Scotland, in order to erect system-built houses in different parts of the country where both local authorities and private enterprise are unwilling to do their job?

Mr. Crossman

I am glad to say that I do not know of local authorities whom we have asked to do it who are unwilling to do it, although some are more efficient than others. As for a national building corporation, what we are doing is to use the N.B.A., set up by right hon. Gentlemen opposite, for the job of training and guiding local authorities in the modern techniques required for system-building, and I think that by advising local authorities the N.B.A. will do better than by trying to compete with them in house building.

Sir G. Nabarro

While rejecting at once the imputation that private builders have failed, is the right hon. Gentleman able to tell the House how he reconciles falling output of houses, public or private, with 900 million bricks lying on the floor?

Mr. Crossman

There is no need to reconcile the rising output of publicly-built houses with that, for the public sector is doing well and this year will increase on last year and will increase on this year's target. The weakness is in the private sector where, for economic reasons, the builders are finding very great difficulty.

Mr. Rippon

Will the Minister now retract—I put the question to him—the categorical statement which he made at the Dispatch Box before the election, on 1st March, that we should build more than 400,000 houses this year? Will he also explain why he has postponed the extremely important meeting which he needs to have with the private builders?

Mr. Crossman

Yes, Sir. I have postponed the meeting simply because I thought that it should take place after the announcement of new Government policy and when I had had time to put housing into the framework of that policy. The builders, although irritated, saw that there would not have been much point in meeting me before the new announcements were made.

Mr. Rippon

What about the target?

Mr. Grossman

I apologise to the right hon. arid learned Gentleman. Let me put it this way: I would now make that statement with a slightly less categorical flavour than I used in March of this year.