§ 5. Mr. Boydenasked the Minister of Public Building and Works what estimate he has made of the extra staff required by his Department to carry out recommendation 3 c of the Phelps Brown Committee, namely, that long-term building forecasts should be prepared for the regions in order to make for more stable conditions in the building and construction industry.
§ Mr. John SilkinMy existing staff are adequate for this task.
§ Mr. BoydenThen why is it not carried out? Surely my right hon. Friend will agree that if this purely administrative plan were implemented, it would very much ease out the wild fluctuations in the building industries and the building materials industries and help correct their present difficulties?
§ Mr. SilkinConsideration of regional prospects has always been a function of the regional joint advisory committees of my Ministry. We are reviewing the arrangements with the aim of achieving greater uniformity in the methods of forecasting adopted by the individual regions.