§ Mr. Frank Allaunasked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will estimate the value of timber at ex-wharf prices required in the average timber-framed houses and the number of such houses built each year for the private market; and if he will estimate roughly the total cost of these imports.
§ Sir George YoungFor an average three-bedroom timber-frame house, and accepting that timber prices are negotiable, an approximate estimate of the ex-wharf cost of the timber required is £600. In 1982 nearly 26,000 timber-frame houses, in a wide range of types, were started for the private market in England. No figures are available for the total cost of these imports.
§ Mr. Frank Allaunasked the Secretary of State for the Environment what estimate he has made of the number of days' labour involved in the construction of a timber-framed house compared with that of a non timber-framed house.
§ Sir George YoungMy Department does not prepare such estimates; but evidence from the housebuilding industry suggests that a three-bedroom semi-detached timber-frame house requires on site 60–90 days' labour to construct, depending on the degree of prefabrication and site mechanisation; and non timber-framed house about 100 days' labour.