§ 127. Mr. McInnesasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer the basis on which allocation of timber and steel is made as between respective Government Departments; and the percentage of the gross total that was allocated to England and Wales and Scotland, respectively, for housing purposes in 1949.
§ Mr. GaitskellAllocation of timber and steel to Government Departments is based on the needs and relative importance in the national economy of the various uses which they sponsor. I am advised by my right hon. Friends who are responsible for housing that, of the total supplies allocated to Departments in 1949, 33⅓ per cent. of the softwood and 1.2 per cent. of the steel, of which housing is a small user, were provided for housing purposes in Great Britain. The distribution as between England and Wales and Scotland was in the proportion of 6 to I in the case of softwood and 5 to 1 in the case of steel.