§ Mr. Arthur Lewisasked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will give as much information as may be readily available showing the rise and/ or fall in actual figures or as a percentage of the number of council houses built to let and the number of houses built for sale during the period from 18th June, 25W 1970, to 18th June, 1971 ; how these figures compare with the year ended 18th June, 1970 ; and if he will give details of the number of staff employed in his Department and the cost of administering his Department for the same periods.
§ Mr. AmeryFrom 1st July, 1970, to 31st May, 1971, 119,000 dwellings were completed in England and Wales for local authorities and new towns, of those 400 were for sale. Compared with completions of 129,000 and 800 respectively in the period 1st July, 1969, to 31st May, 1970, there are falls of 7½ and 50 per cent.
During these same periods in the private sector for England and Wales there were 153,000 dwellings completed up to 31st May, 1971, and 149,000 completed up to 31st May, 1970, a rise of 3 per cent.
Building figures for June, 1971, are not yet available.
Staff within the Department of the Environment or its predecessors attributable to housing administration numbered about 500 throughout the period. Cost of administration was about £1.2 million in 1969–70 and about £1.3 million in 1970–71.