§ Mr. Byersasked the Minister of Works the reason for retaining the licensing of building and civil engineering contractors, in view of the fact that no application for such a licence has been rejected in the last 12 months.
§ Mr. KeyThe main reason for maintaining a register of building and civil engineering contractors is to identify the employers and thereby to obtain information as to the numbers of employers and operatives in the industry and their distribution throughout the country according to the type of work on which they are engaged; it is on this information that the planning of the building programme and the control of building operations depend. Registration is also required at present to secure the observance of certain conditions specified in Defence Regulation 56AB.