§ 83. Mr. Gibsonasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proportion of the total Government expenditure was spent on new house building for the years 1950, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1954, and 1955; and what proportion of the total national product this represented in each year.
§ Mr. P. ThorneycroftDirect expenditure by the Central Government on new house building is limited to capital expenditure on married quarters for the Services and on dwellings for other Government employees. The major housing expenditure undertaken by the Central Government consists of annual subsidies paid to housing authorities over fixed periods, usually sixty years. As regards the second part of the Question, the only figures of expenditure which can be properly related to the total national product are those of the capital cost of the houses, which are as follows:
— (a) Central Government expenditure on housing subsidies as per cent. of (b) total Central Government expenditure on Revenue account (c) Capital expenditure by Central Government and local authorities on housing as per cent. of (d) gross national product 1950 … 1.6 2.3 1951 … 1.5 2.3 1952 … 1.5 2.5 1953 … 1.6 2.7 1954 … 1.7 2.3 1955 … 1.6 1.9 Source: National Income and Expenditure, 1956. (a) and (b) from Table 37; (c) from Table 42; (d) from Table i.