HC Deb 21 July 1959 vol 609 cc102-3W
84. Mr. Sparks

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs if he will state, in table form, the average number of workers, in each year from 1945 to 1951, engaged in the rebuilding and repair of dwellings destroyed and damaged during the late war, and the average number engaged in building dwellings for local authorities in the same period.

Mr. H. Brooke

I regret that only part of the information asked for is available. Separate records of labour employed on war damage repair were not kept after September, 1949, when the numbers were shrinking, and the only figures I have for labour employed on new house-building relate to all new houses, not merely those built for local authorities.

The following is the information which is available.

AVERAGE NUMBER OF OPERATIVES EMPLOYED (ESTIMATE)
On repairing war damaged houses On new house building Total
1945 (July) 203,400 25,000 228,400
1946 161,700 162,000 323,700
1947 105,900 227,900 333,800
1948 79,600 210,500 290,100
1949 69,400 (in period Jan.-Sept.) 215,800 285,200
1950 221,700
1951 218,900

Note.—Above figures exclude P.O.W. labour. New house building includes war damage rebuilds and new private houses, in addition to local authority houses.

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