§ Mr. Frank Allaunasked the Minister of Housing and Local Government, if he will state the number of houses started and of those completed in 1969, up to the latest available date, in the public and private sectors, respectively, with the corresponding numbers for 1968 and 1967; and, in the light of these figures, what steps he is taking to accelerate house building.
§ Mr. GreenwoodI am very concerned that some local authorities in urgent housing need appear to have cut their programmes to a naltogether unnecessary degree, and I am inviting these authorities to discuss their cuts with me. In the private sector I have increased the amount available for local authority lending this year by £25 million.
(Thousands) January-August 1967 1968 1969 Starts: Public 148.5 133.1 122.4 Private 168.0 140.6 117.4 Total 316.5 273.6 239.8 Completions: Public 129.3 122.2 115.0 Private 123.4 145.4 119.8 Total 252.7 267.7 234.8