§ Q1. Mr. Ashleyasked the Prime Minister if he is satisfied with the co-ordination between the Departments of the Environment, Trade and Industry and Employment in the Government's relations with the building industry.
§ The Prime Minister (Mr. Edward Heath)Yes, Sir. Responsibility for relations with the industry lies primarily with the Department of the Environment, and my right hon. Friend the Minister for Housing and Construction is chairman of the National Consultative Council of the Building and Civil Engineering Industries.
§ Mr. AshleyIs the Prime Minister also satisfied with the scandalous increase in house prices in the last year and the prospect of their exploding uncontrollably when council house tenants discover that "fair rents" means farewell to low rents? Is the right hon. Gentleman prepared to recommend the concerted control of land and the building industry, or does he prefer to see house prices double, as council house rents will double?
§ The Prime MinisterI do not think that there is any relationship between the last two factors. The only answer is to increase the supply of houses. This is what we are doing. In the four months from November of last year to February, starts in private housing were over 35 per cent. higher than a year earlier. In the public sector over the same period, approvals were 14 per cent. higher than a year earlier. I am sure that this is a more effective way of dealing with the problem than trying to institute controls.
§ Mr. Idris OwenIs my right hon. Friend aware that, as a result of the dramatic expansion in the building industry, an acute shortage of skilled labour is developing and that this has been confirmed today by an officer of the Department of Employment in my constituency? Will my right hon. Friend indicate what 1426 steps he intends to take to avoid a crisis in the latter part of the year?
§ The Prime MinisterIt is true that certain shortages are developing in parts of the country, although there is high unemployment in the construction industry as a whole. What is necessary is, first, that there should be further training for skilled craftsmen in the construction industry, and my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Employment has embarked on this already; and, secondly, that those who have skills in the construction industry should go to the places where the construction is being carried out.
§ Mr. LoughlinWill the Prime Minister reconsider the question of land prices? Is not he aware that there have been astronomical increases in land prices in the last six months and that the situation today is that a man earning £30 a week cannot get a large enough mortgage advance to buy himself a house? Is it not about time that the Government did something to control land prices rather than allowing people to do without houses?
§ The Prime MinisterMy right hon. Friends have instituted discussions in all the regions between the builders and the planning authorities in order to establish where the difficulties lie in particular areas and to ensure a greater release of land. This is a helpful step towards solving the problem to which the hon. Gentleman referred.