§ Major Legge-Bourkeasked the Minister of Works how many manhours of labour are now taken to build a council house as compared with 1938, and to build the Smith, Airey and B.I.S.F. houses.
§ Mr. TomlinsonPrewar houses varied considerably in size and specification from those at present being built, and the information available is not sufficient to enable a reliable comparison with 1938 to be made. The number of prefabricated houses erected on development schemes is not sufficient to enable final estimates to be made in respect of normal contract conditions, but a limited amount of information available on. the construction of the super-structure only (excluding as far as possible the time required on operations such as foundations and finishings which vary considerably for traditional and non-traditional houses) suggests the following comparison: (a) for the Airey and B.S.C. (Smith) houses an average of 850 manhours; (b) for traditional brick and tile house of similar size and carried out under comparable conditions, 1,350 manhours. No figures are available in respect of the B.I.S.F. house.