HC Deb 07 November 1950 vol 480 cc40-2W
91. Sir W. Smithers

asked the President of the Board of Trade why, in view of the housing crisis in Britain, 500 prefabricated houses are to be shipped abroad from the port of Immingham on 14th November.

96. Mr. Llewellyn

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he is aware that the first consignment of 500 prefabricated houses is due to pass through the port of Immingham on 14th November for Australia; how many prefabricated houses have been exported, and to what countries, for each of the years 1945–49, inclusive, and for the first 10 months of 1950; and how many are due to be exported under existing contracts.

EXPORTS OF PREFABRICATED BUILDINGS
1945–1949 January-September, 1950
Number £
Channel Islands see footnote 3 2,572
Gibraltar 1 700
Gold Coast 3 4,620
Nigeria 1 1,754
South Africa 7 608
Southern Rhodesia 88 38,787
Tanganyika 52 63,227
Kenya 41 7,967
Nyasaland 6 1,084
Bahrein, Koweit, Qatar and Trucial Oman 8 17,544
India 7 6,215
Pakistan 5 6,286
Australia 1,564 1,589,080
New Zealand 5 1,404
Canada 1 1,272
Jamaica and Dependencies 22 6,909
Windward Islands 2 3,203
Trinidad and Tobago 1 762
British Honduras 2 250
British Guiana 9 1,125
Anglo-Egyptian Sudan 26 27,387
Irish Republic 1 1,490
Switzerland 1 500
Belgian Congo 11 4,695
French West and Equatorial Africa 6 6,892
French Indo-China 1 1,479
Lebanon 65 34,696
Israel 5 5,439
Morocco 2 1,514
Iraq 9 17,886
Iran 3 6,000
United States of America 1 1,175
Colombia 1 1,223
Venezuela 1 156
Uruguay 1 1,070
TOTAL 1,962 1,866,971
Note.—For the years 1945–1949 inclusive prefabricated buildings were not separately distinguished in Customs and Excise Export List. Details are not yet available for the first 10 months of 1950.

Mr. Bottomley

The decision to facilitate these exports was taken in full consultation with the Departments concerned. They form part of a valuable export trade which helps to pay for supplies of, for example, meat and wool. They will help the Government of Australia to house immigrants, and they are in line with the United Kingdom Government's policy of encouraging emigration to the under-populated parts of the Commonwealth. I am circulating in the OFFICIAL REPORT the available figures for the export of prefabricated buildings. I regret that figures for the numbers under contract are not available.

Following are the figures: