HC Deb 27 March 1946 vol 421 cc33-5W
104. Mr. Murray

asked the Minister of Works whether he is aware of the shortage of bricks in the county of Durham and that men are receiving notice because of this shortage; and whether there is any prospect of the Government or private enterprise opening up new brick works in Durham to overcome this shortage.

Mr. Tomlinson:

Although there are difficulties in the supply of bricks, I am not aware of any shortage which has caused the discharge of any workers, but if my hon. Friend will send me particulars of any cases I shall be pleased to look into them. There are 31 brickworks in production in Durham, and steps are being taken to bring into production the remaining 23 brickyards which are closed. I will consider the possibilities of opening up new works in this area.

107. Mr. Lavers

asked the Minister of Works whether he is satisfied that there are adequate supplies of bricks, sand and gravel in the North-East to maintain the rate of progress desirable in the erection of permanent houses.

Mr. Tomlinson:

In all parts of the country deliveries of bricks are exceeding current production. There are, however, substantial stocks and every effort is being made to increase production as rapidly as possible. In the counties of Durham, Northumberland and Yorkshire the brickworks are adequate, when fully manned, to supply the bricks necessary to maintain satisfactory progress in the erection of permanent houses and at the end of February there were stocks in those three counties of more than 45 million bricks. I have no reason to suppose that supplies of cement and gravel will fail to meet requirements.

Mr. Prescott

asked the Minister of Works how many brickworks in Lancashire have been reopened in the last-12 months; and how many still remain closed.

Mr. Tomlinson:

Since March, 1945, ninety-four brickworks in Lancashire have been licensed and of these 10 produced bricks in January. Four works remain closed and steps are being taken to reopen them.

Mr. Prescott

asked the Minister of Works what are the figures for the production of bricks in Lancashire for the last two months for which figures are available; and what are the comparable figures for 1944 and 1939.

Mr. Tomlinson:

In January and February, 1946, the numbers of bricks produced in Lancashire were respectively 11,773,000 and 12,843,000 and in January and February, 1944, the comparable figures were respectively 5,525,000 and 5,746,000. The figures for production for the comparable period in 1939 are not available, but the maximum capacity per month is estimated at 73,404,000.