§ Mr. Sydney Irvingasked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs what have been the increases since 1951 in the average cost of the various types of local authority housing units approved by his Department; and what has been the corresponding increase in the cost of building index.
§ Sir K. JosephFigures are not available for all the various types of local authority housing units approved by my Department. The following table shows changes in the average cost of a two-storey three-bedroom house for each year since 1951 compared with the cost of construction index. The figures of housing costs are based on tender prices, excluding land and services, and have been adjusted to a standard area of 900 square feet.
The cost of construction index is based on the cost of all new construction, including civil engineering as well as every form of building, and is therefore not necessarily a fair comparison.
The following are the figures:
Year Average Cost Index of House-building costs* Cost of New Construction Index* £ 1951 1,194 88 95 1952 1,316 97 102 1953 1,361 100 100 1954 1,361 100 100 1955 1,403 103 106 1956 1,454 107 110 1957 1,473 108 114 1958 1,480 109 115 1959 1,520 112 113 1960 1,616 119 114 1961 1,790 132 118 1962 1,957 144 122 * Average 1954=100.