§ Mr. Chetwyndasked the Minister of Housing and Local Government what safeguards exist or will be introduced to prevent labour and building materials being drained away from local authority building to new house building by private enterprise for sale and non-essential building work.
§ Mr. H. MacmillanIt will be for local authorities to decide, in the light of their knowledge of local needs and resources, what proportion of their allocation of houses, up to the limit of one-half, should be built privately under licence. They have been advised—in the Appendix to Circular No. 73/51—to spread over the year the issue of such licences as they decide to grant, so as to avoid any dislocation of the local house-building programme. Other building work is controlled by both licensing and the system of starting dates; on this I would refer the hon. Member to the statement made on 7th November by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer.