§ 6. Mr. Boydenasked the Minister of Housing and Local Government if he will publish statistics on the relative cost-effectiveness of the local authorities in building council houses.
§ Mr. FreesonComplete information on relative cost-effectiveness as between local housing authorities is not available. But local authorities can get some measure of their performance by comparing their tender prices with the regional housing cost yardsticks.
§ Mr. BoydenWill my hon. Friend's Department do something about the particularly expensive house building by local authorities?
§ Mr. FreesonOne difficulty relates to the time span experienced by local authorities in getting major contracts completed, as many of the schemes are much larger than those undertaken by firms constructing houses for owner-occupation. Our regional officers are pursuing this matter regularly with local authorities. If my hon. Friend has particular cases which he would like to put to us, we shall be glad to investigate them.