§ Mr. Peter Walkerasked the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what has been the average cost of construction of council houses for each year since 1945; and what was the cost for private houses over the same period;
(2) what has been the average weekly rent of local authority dwellings in England and Wales for each year since 1945; and what is the current average.
§ Mr. FreesonInformation is not available on private sector construction costs. Available information for local authority dwellings in England and Wales is as follows:
Average weekly unrebated rent* Average construction costs of all dwellings in tenders approved in the year† £ £ September 1957 0.87 Not available April 1958 0.94 Not available April 1959 0.99 Not available April 1960 1.02 Not available April 1961 1.08 Not available April 1962 1.19 Not available April 1963 1.25 2,229 April 1964 1.32 2,434 April 1965 1.41 2,655 April 1966 1.55 2,929 April 1967 1.69 2,989 March 1968 1.90 3,046 March 1969 2.04 3,090 March 1970 2.23 3,224 April 1971 2.48 3,664 April 1972 2.75 4,440 May 1973 3.44 5,857 April 1974 3.78 7,036 April 1975 4.16 7.320‡ April 1976§ 4.80 *Figures before 1968 are estimates of the average rebated rent which are likely to differ little from the average unrebated rent in these years. † The cost of land, site works, ancillary buildings and fees are excluded. Figures before 1969 include new towns. ‡ Provisional estimate for the first half of 1975. § Provisional.