§ Mr. James Hamiltonasked the Minister of Public Building and Works if, in all public building under his control, he will ensure the use of steel in its construction wherever practicable in order to avoid serious redundancies in that indu-try; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Mellish:I am conscious of the importance of steel to the construction industries, and of using steel frame construction in the most economic and efficient manner.
My Department has developed a form of composite steel frame construction for use with large span multi-storey buildings of heavy capacity.
A number of notable examples of this form of construction are now in use; such as the new Giro complex at Bootle and the central sorting offices at Holborn, Canning Town, Birmingham and Manchester for the Post Office. Many others are in the planning stage.
397WMy Department always considers the use of steel frame construction for the public building which it carries out. The choice of material is made after careful consideration of all the circumstances in each case.