Mr. T. THOMSONasked the Minister of Health if any record of the hours occupied in the erection of the various types of houses under the Housing Act, 1919, exists; if so, what the minimum and maximum number in respect of similar houses are, giving in each case the dates of completion of the houses to which the hours refer; and what is the average number of hours worked in respect of such houses at the present day?
§ Mr. NEVILLE CHAMBERLAINComplete records of the numbers of hours occupied in the erection of houses are not available. The general tendency is, however, indicated in the following figures obtained from an analysis of the figures for four schemes for which continuous records were kept over a long period. In these schemes the highest recorded average figure was 4,664 hours per house in respect of houses completed in the quarter1382W ending December, 1921, while the lowest comparable figure was 2,711 hours per house for houses completed in the quarter ending March, 1923. The reduction in hours during this period was continuous and fairly regular.