§ Mr. Bostonasked the Minister of Public Building and Works how much has been spent by the building and construction industry on research in each of the past five years; what these sums represent as a proportion of the total investment in the industry in those years; and how this expenditure compares with the amount spent on research in other major industries.
§ Mr. BoydenInformation is not available for each of the past five years, but on the basis of a special inquiry made in 1964 it is estimated that in that year the construction industry itself spent about £2.5 million on research. This would be2W the equivalent of 0.3 per cent, of the gross output or investment in the industry in that year.
This proportion is significantly lower than the amount spent on research on other major industries. The national average for all industries is about 2.7 per cent.
§ Mr. Bostonasked the Minister of Public Building and Works what proportions of the amounts spent by the building and construction industry on research in each of the past five years have been devoted to research into bad weather building techniques.
§ Mr. BoydenMany manufacturers, contractors and others carry out research and development into new building materials and techniques, which will reduce interruptions caused by bad weather but it is not possible to separate this particular element from other objectives of the same research. More widespread application of known techniques is a major problem facing the industry.