§ Mr. Bossomasked the Minister of Works how much of the £150,000,000 voted for emergency houses has already been spent or contracted to be expended; and how many houses is the nation getting for this total expenditure.
§ Mr. TomlinsonIt is calculated that the amount spent and contracted to be expended on temporary housing is approximately £120,000,000. The £150,000,000 voted will defray the cost of about 125,000 houses.
§ Sir W. Smithersasked the Minister of Works why he employs a separate contractor to lay the concrete slabs and drains to accommodate prefabricated bungalows to be erected by another contractor at a 393W later date; and why the managing contractor responsible for tile manufacture of the component parts is not given the complete job.
§ Mr. TomlinsonThe normal practice is to let one contract for site preparation, including the construction of the concrete slab foundation and house erection. Sometimes, however, labour, plant and time can be saved by adding concrete slabbing and drains to the contract for road works which are being carried out by a local authority, especially when prisoner-of-war labour is employed. It is considered essential that house erection should be undertaken by the Building Industry and that as much of this work as possible should be offered to local builders.