§ 2.43 p.m.
§ LORD AUCKLANDMy Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question which stands in my name on the Order Paper.
§ [The Question was as follows:
§ To ask Her Majesty's Government what progress has been made towards forming groups of local authorities, as a contribution to a larger annual house-building programme and to the use of industrialised systems of building.]
§ LORD HASTINGSMy Lords, there are now 10 groups of housing authorities in England and Wales, comprising 70 authorities, and accounting for about one-quarter of the local authority house building programme. My right honourable friend the Minister of Housing and Local Government believes that the development of group action by the principal house-building authorities can make an important contribution to increased productivity, by aggregating their requirements for houses and house components so as as to place big orders and thus facilitate forward planning by the building industry, and by providing opportunities for the development of industrialised methods. My right honourable friend's Department has accordingly held a series of conferences and discussions with some 440 housing authorities, and further discussions are now going on between many of these authorities which should soon lead to more groups being formed.
My right honourable friend is continuing to help both the existing groups and those in formation with the services of his techincal and administrative officers.
§ LORD AUCKLANDMy Lords, in thanking my noble friend for that satisfactory reply, may I ask him three short supplementary questions? First of all, will New Town schemes and overspill schemes receive priority in these matters? Secondly, how many local authorities are now discussing grouping, and what proportion of the public house-building 442 programme is accounted for here? Thirdly, how will authorities who do not join groups be able to get advice on the schemes of system building?
§ LORD HASTINGSMy Lords, in answer to the first supplementary of my noble friend, New Towns, of course, have a tremendously important part to play. They are already using new systems of building which make better use of site labour and of a wide range of factory-made components; and they have also been joining in the discussions and conferences which my right honourable friend has arranged, and are considering the possibilities of co-operation between themselves, in order to place bigger orders, or between themselves and groups of local authorities.
The second question, concerned the number of local authorities. I said that 440 had been discussing these matters. In addition to the 10 groups I mentioned, there are 26 informal groups now holding technical discussions to find out how they can work together. These 26 groups, with the other 10, represent about three-quarters of the building of all council houses in 1963. The third supplementary referred to small authorities outside such groups. The National Building Agency which has been set up by my right honourable friend, the Minister of Public Building and Works, will, of course, help these small authorities greatly and encourage the wider use of system buildings, and will help them in co-ordinating and generally carrying out their programmes.