§ 16. Mr. Gregor Mackenzieasked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will give figures of industrial output in Scotland in the construction industries for the years 1964 to 1968 and for the years 1960 to 1964; and how these figures compare with the output in these industries for the United Kingdom as a whole.
§ Mr. RossBetween 1964 and 1968 output in the construction industry rose by 24 per cent. in volume as compared with 10½ per cent. in the United Kingdom; in the earlier period 1960–64 the comparable figures were 24 per cent. and 21 per cent., respectively.
§ Mr. MackenzieI am grateful to my right hon. Friend for giving the figures. Could he express work done in Scotland in 1968 as a proportion of the United Kingdom total, and could he say how the proportion has changed since 1960?
§ Mr. RossIn 1968 for the first time the output topped the £500 million level. It was £507 million. It was 11.2 per cent. of the total for Great Britain. This compares with 9.7 per cent. in 1964, and 9.4 per cent. in 1960. It is an indication of "full speed ahead" for the construtcion industry.
§ Mr. Buchanan-SmithCould the right hon. Gentleman explain how the increased burden of £5 million additional S.E.T. imposed by the recent Budget will contribute to an increase in output in this important industry in Scotland?
§ Mr. RossThe figures since 1966 demonstrate that S.E.T. has had no effect in slowing down progress in the construction industry in all the important tasks that it has to undertake in Scotland.