§ 12. Mr. McElhoneasked the Secretary of State for Scotland what was the average price of an acre of building land in Scotland, and in Glasgow in particular, in June 1970 and for the latest available date.
§ Mr. YoungerThis information is not available, as these particular statistics have never been collected or kept.
§ Mr. McElhoneIs the hon. Gentleman aware that that is a very disappointing answer? One is getting very disturbed at the lack of information on these matters concerning Scotland. Figures exist for England and Wales. May I tell the Minister——
§ Mr. SpeakerThe hon. Member may not tell the Minister. He may ask a question.
§ Mr. McElhoneCan I put it to the Minister that——
§ Mr. SpeakerOrder. The usual phrase is "Is the Minister aware?".
§ Mr. McElhoneThe trouble is that one is so disgusted at the lack of information. Is the Minister aware that it is rather distressing that these figures are not available for Scotland when they are available for England and Wales? Is he further aware that I checked only an hour ago with my local authority and with a leading private builder who both told me that on a very conservative estimate the figures for land prices have gone up by at least 75 per cent.? I am not talking about the recent extortionate figure in Aberdeen. Does not the Minister agree that it is time the Government stopped misleading this House and the country about these prices?
§ Mr. YoungerThe hon. Gentleman should beware of expecting too much from a figure of the sort he has mentioned. It would depend very much on what land it was, what average was taken, whether the land was for the building of houses or for industrial building, whether it included land in city centre sites and so on. I do not think such a figure would be very meaningful. However, the question of land prices causes great concern to many people. It is interesting to note that there have not in fact been significant increases in site values as a proportion of the average price of a new house in Scotland over the past five years. We will keep this matter under very careful review.
§ Mr. EwingCan the hon. Gentleman tell the House how many millionaires have been created in Scotland recently as a result of land speculation? If he does not know, will he find out and then tell the House?
§ Mr. YoungerIf I were able to find out how to become a millionaire, I probably would not still be here.
§ Mr. Robert HughesWill the Minister conduct an urgent review to establish the facts?
§ Mr. YoungerI do not think that a review of land prices as such would be of value, but I do think that this is something that should be watched very carefully to make sure that land prices do not form an increased part of the price of new homes.
§ Mr. SpeakerMr. Strang.
§ Mr. SpeakerOrder. I will call the right hon. Gentleman, but I deprecate supplementary questions from two Members from the Opposition Front Bench on one Question. Mr. Ross.