§ Mr. Meacherasked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will undertake a survey to establish how much land currently held by housebuilders has been in their possession for respectively 5, 10, 15 and 20 or more years; and if he will use such information to counter the escalation of land and building charges.
§ Mr. ChannonSuch a survey is unnecessary in the light of the proposed land hoarding charge and the other measures in the White Paper "Widening the Choice: The Next Steps in Housing" for increasing the supply of building land.