§ 18. Mr. Eadieasked the Minister of Public Building and Works if he is satisfied there will be no shortage of building materials in the house building industry; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. John SilkinI do not foresee any general shortages of basic building materials for the house building industry in the next year or two, although local 392 shortages, and shortages of specialised items, are always liable to occur from time to time, for reasons which cannot be predicted.
§ Mr. EadieIs my right hon. Friend aware that there is genuine concern in Scotland about a possible shortage of bricks, for example, for the house building industry? Is he further aware that according to statements in the Press there seem to be some bodies of people who are more concerned about making party political capital out of this issue than about producing solutions for the problems?
§ Mr. SilkinAs to the first point, there is a temporary shortage in the central belt in Scotland, but I believe that the deficit is being made good from Northern England and that the present shortage will not be of long duration.
As to the second part of my hon. Friend's question, that seems to be a case of making political bricks without straw.
§ Mr. CostainDoes the Minister appreciate that the extra burden which the Chancellor of the Exchequer has put on transport costs is one of the reasons for local shortages? Is it not ridiculous that there should be an excess of bricks in England and a shortage in Scotland due purely to the costs of distribution?
§ Mr. SilkinI cannot agree with the hon. Gentleman's diagnosis of the brick shortage or of the remedies. The main point is that there has been a change in the employment pattern and, therefore, a change temporarily in the supply of bricks. The obvious thing to do is to meet that supply.