§ 12. Mr. Idris Owenasked the Secretary of State for the Environment what was the number of housing completions in the public sector in the last six months of 1970; and what was the corresponding figure for the first six months of the same year.
§ Mr. Amery94,309 dwellings were completed in the public sector in Great Britain in the second half of 1970, compared with 87,190 in the first half.
§ Mr. OwenIs my right hon. Friend aware that those figures give the lie to the continuous carping criticism of hon. Gentlemen opposite about the success of our housing programme in the second half of 1970?
§ Mr. AmeryI of course welcome the fact that a larger number of dwellings were completed after the General Election than before it, though I must admit that the good weather may have played some part in that.
Mr. HellerWould the right hon. Gentleman take it from one who has been in the building industry all his life that the houses completed in the second half of 1970 were begun in the first half of that year?
§ Mr. AmeryIndeed. Those completed in the second half of 1970 were begun in 1969, and had the hon. Gentleman listened to my remarks he would have heard me tell my hon. Friend that while I welcomed the higher level of completions after the General Election, I had to admit that a good deal of it was due to the better weather.