§ Mr. Michael Lathamasked the Secretary of State for the Environment which local authorities have been advised by the National Building Agency over the last 12 months regarding the creation of, or improvements to the operational efficiency of, a direct labour building department; and what is the total fee received by the NBA for this activity.
§ Mr. KaufmanOnly one specifically for the purpose, Hackney Borough Council which paid £3,000 in 1974. But the agency has provided many other authorities with advice on their building programmes, particularly on housing improvement work, and in a number of these authorities some of this work has been carried out by direct labour departments which have consequently benefited from the NBA's advice.
§ Mr. Michael Lathamasked the Secretary of State for the Environment how many members of the board of the National Building Agency are appointed by him; who they are; upon the basis of what qualifications or experience they are appointed; and what fees they receive.
§ Mr. KaufmanThe members of the board of the National Building Agency are: Lord Goodman, CH, Chairman; J. Bedford, OBE, Deputy Chairman; A. W. Cleeve Barr, CBE, Managing Director; Sir Kenneth Wood; P. Dunican; D. Llewellyn; Ald. H. Lambert; L. Patterson; Sir James Macfarlane, DL, JP; H. Brummitt, OBE; General Lord Bourne, GCB, KBE, CMG—Directors.
Directors are appointed by the Secretary of State in the light of the contribution they are likely to make to the work 521W of the board and the agency. Members of the board receive fees of £500, except for the chairman, who receives no remuneration, and the managing director, who receives no fee as a director.
§ Mr. Michael Lathamasked the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the present staffing establishment of the National Building Agency; what were the equivalent figures on 1st January for each year since its inception; and how many of the staff were architects in each case.
§ Mr. KaufmanThe present number of staff employed by the National Building Agency is 168, of whom 42 are architects. Numbers of staff employed on 1st January of each year and numbers for the years before 1967–68 are not readily available. The average number of staff employed by the National Building Agency is subsequent years is as follows:
1967–68 214 1968–69 202 1969–70 191 1970–71 188 1971–72 166 1972–73 104 1973–74 137 The proportion of these staff who were architects is not readily available.
§ Mr. Michael Lathamasked the Secretary of State for the Environment what are the total fees received by the National Building Agency for each year since its inception; and what sum has been paid by it to his Department in each year.
§ Mr. KaufmanThe fees earned by the National Building Agency in each year were calculated as follows:
£ 1964–65 550 1965–66 6,525 1966–67 281,126 1967–68 210,802 1968–69 286,304 1969–70 292,886 1970–71 459,571 1971–72 433,896 1972–73 598,709 1973–74 740,359 No sums have been paid to the Department by the National Building Agency.
§ Mr. Michael Lathamasked the Secretary of State for the Environment what was the total grant in aid paid by his 522W Department to the National Building Agency for each of the years since its inception; and what is the proposed grant for 1975–76.
§ Mr. KaufmanThe information is as follows:
£ 1963–64 5,000 1964–65 196,000 1965–66 495,600 1966–67 330,000 1967–68 500,000 1968–69 475,000 1969–70 450,000 1970–71 450,000 1971–72 450,000 1972–73 200,000 1973–74 199,000 1974–75 230,000 The proposed grant in aid for 1975–76 is £276,000.
§ Mr. Michael Lathamasked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will outline the current activities of the National Building Agency; and what proportion of its staff time is devoted to the appraisal of industrialised building systems.
§ Mr. KaufmanThe current grant-aided activities of the National Building Agency include advice to local housing authorities on housing action and general improvement areas as well as technical reports and management studies for housing associations and the Housing Corporation. The agency's current fee-earning activities, which are mainly directed towards public authorities, include advisory services on management structures, procedures and the organisation of building programmes, and professional services to local housing authorities, the Housing Corporation and housing associations. The subjects covered include specialist housing projects and the implementation of housing action areas and general improvement areas.
The proportion of staff time currently devoted to the appraisal of industrialised building systems is 3 per cent. This comprises the preparation of appraisal certificates, jointly with the Agrément Board, and technical reports for system sponsors. These certificates and reports are financed by charges to the firms concerned.