§ Mr. Parryasked the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the estimated loss of jobs in the construction industry which will arise from the recent decision to cut public spending on house building.
§ Sir George YoungThere should be no loss of jobs since authorities are not being asked to withdraw from existing contracts. The restraint on local authority capital expenditure is designed only to bring total spending in line with the planned levels announced in this year's public expenditure White Paper (Cmnd. 9143), and the construction industry may therefore expect to receive the full volume of work from local government implied by the figures in that White Paper.