§ Sir R. CLOUGHasked the Minister of Health whether any delay in the completion of houses under the Government subsidy scheme is due to the shortage of plasterers and tilers; to what cause or causes he attributes such shortage; and what has been and is its effect on house constructional work generally?
§ Sir A. MONDThe completion of houses under the Government scheme has certainly been very considerably delayed owing to the shortage of plasterers and slaters and tilers. The position as regards slaters and tilers has somewhat improved recently, but there is still a serious shortage of plasterers. The reason for this shortage would appear to be that the trade has not in recent years been recruited proportionately to other trades. There can be no doubt that the effect of this shortage is to delay construction, to increase cost, and to cause unemployment in other branches of the building trade.