§ Mr. Roderickasked the Secretary of State for Wales what was the total bid made by Welsh housing authorities for 187W house approvals in 1971 and how this bid compares with that in each year since 1964.
§ Mr. Peter ThomasMeaningful comparison of this sort cannot be made. Not all local authorities inform me annually of their future building intentions. The information given is purely tentative as a general guide to what these authorities have in mind. It has not been the practice to publish this information.
§ Mr. Roderickasked the Secretary of State for Wales how many house approvals were agreed by his Department for 1971 and how this figure compares with each year since 1964.
§ Mr. Peter ThomasUp to the end of May, 1971, 1,859 dwellings had been finally approved. The corresponding figures for the first five months of the earlier years were: 1964, 5,455; 1965, 4,392; 1966, 3,788; 1967, 3,995; 1968. 2,454; 1969, 1,959; 1970, 1,610.
§ Mr. Roderickasked the Secretary of State for Wales how many housing starts there were in Wales in each month from January to April, 1971, and how these figures compare with each year since 1964.
§ Mr. Peter ThomasThe following figures show the numbers of houses started in Wales:
PUBLIC AND PRIVATE SECTORS HOUSING—STARTS January February March April 1971 … 799 1,063 1,349 1,513 1970 … 699 937 1,148 1,094 1969 … 1,108 721 1,499 1,460 1968 … 1,313 1,512 1,542 1,842 1967 … 1,211 1,382 2,043 2,560 1966 … 1,743 1,088 2,189 1,652 1965 … 1,287 1,760 1,365 1,991 1964 … 1,859 1,525 1,345 2,159
§ Mr. Roderickasked the Secretary of State for Wales whether he will list those housing authorities with schemes which his Department has approved in principle, but upon which no construction has begun, how many houses are involved in such schemes, and when they are likely to begin.
§ Mr. Peter ThomasAt the end of April, 1971, work on 2,459 new houses which had been finally approved for 56 local authorities had not started. In188W addition, cost limits had been determined for schemes entailing 2,487 houses for 73 local authorities.
It is not possible to say when work will begin on individual schemes or dwellings within schemes.
If the hon. Member wants further details, I will gladly give them.
§ Mr. Roderickasked the Secretary of State for Wales whether he will list those authorities in Wales which have indicated to his Department their reluctance to undertake any new housing development until greater detail of the new proposals for financing local authority housing is known.
§ Mr. Peter ThomasOne authority—Burry Port Urban District Council—has indicated its intention to defer schemes for that reason.