§ Mr. Trewasked the Secretary of State for the Environment what account has been taken of present shortages of bricks and bricklayers in design briefs for new buildings commissioned by the Department.
§ Mr. Amery:These factors are taken into consideration by the Department's designers of new buildings.
§ Mr. Trewasked the Secretary of State for the Environment what assessment he has made of brickmaking capacity in the United Kingdom; and whether he is satisfied that it is adequate for the expected future workload of the construction industry.
§ Mr. Amery:My Department, in collaboration with the brick producers, last measured the capacity of the industry in Great Britain in December, 1970, when it was rated at about 7,100 million bricks per annum. In addition my Department publishes monthly figures of brick production, deliveries and stocks. The Brick Development Association has recently assured me that, taking into account increased capacity planned for 1972, the industry will be able to meet overall 35W demand, although temporary local shortages of bricks may occur.
§ Mr. Trewasked the Secretary of State for the Environment what were the total brick stocks in the United Kingdom at a comparable date in each year since 1963 and at the latest available date.
§ Mr. Eyre:The figures available, which relate to Great Britain, are as follows:
Stocks of Bricks at the end of March Great Britain, Totals (millions) Year (March) 1963 912 1964 188 1965 151 1966 882 1967 922 1968 565 1969 944 1970 1,120 1971 636 1972 (Provisional) 237