HC Deb 15 November 1972 vol 846 cc409-11
15. Mr. John Fraser

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement about the present level of local authority house construction.

Mr. Channon

No limitations are placed by my Department on local authorities who wish to produce building schemes. I am particularly anxious that in areas of housing need there should be a high level of building of all kinds.

Mr. Fraser

Is the Minister aware that in the first half of 1972 compared with the first half of 1970 there has been a fall of 29,000 in the number of public sector houses under construction? The number of starts has gone down by 6,500 and the number of completions has dropped by more than 13,000. The Minister's immediate predecessor was an abysmal failure.

Mr. Channon

The figures for London show that public sector starts, private sector starts and local authority tenders approved for the first nine months of the year are substantially up.

Mr. Crosland

Will the Minister treat this matter with a little more urgency and not evade the question by giving figures for only one part of the country? Is he aware that the situation is a great deal worse than my hon. Friend suggested and that the level of public sector starts in the third quarter of this year—the last quarter for which we have figures—was the lowest for ten years? In many places—Birmingham, for example—the matter is now becoming desperate, and there is no sign of an upturn. Will the Minister stop giving evasive answers? We know that he is capable of better than that, because we have seen him in action on the Housing Finance Bill. Will he announce a policy for reversing the disastrous trend?

Mr. Channon

No limitations are placed by the Department upon local authorities who wish to produce building schemes. If local authorities, including Birmingham, wish to do so, my Department will be glad to consider them.

Mr. James Hill

Is it not best to consider housing starts in all sectors rather than try to separate them into council, private and other dwellings? Will my hon. Friend confirm that housing starts in the last year have been far superior to anything achieved within the last 6 years?

Mr. Channon

I certainly agree that we need to look at the figures as a whole. I also believe that rather than adopting the blanket approach followed by the Opposition we should seek to achieve a higher level of building of all kinds in areas of stress.

Mr. Crosland

I must press the Minister on this point. Is he not aware— since he says that all local authorities are free—that the present cost yardstick is now a serious deterrent to contractors in parts of the country? In spite of what the hon. Member for Southampton, Test (Mr. James Hill), said total starts in the private and public sectors are nowhere near the level reached in four out of the six years of the Labour Government.

Mr. Channon

Total starts are fairly substantially up on last year. As he knows, my right hon. Friend, the former Secretary of State for the Environment, announced proposals during the Queen's Speech concerning the yardstick, and if local authorities are in difficulties I hope that they will study my right hon. Friend's words very carefully.