§ Mr. Nicholas Wintertonasked the Secretary of State for the Environment what information he has concerning 216W the comparative levels of expenditure upon housing construction in the United Kingdom, in each of the other member countries of the European Economic Community, the United States of America and Canada as a total figure in sterling equivalent and as a percentage of gross national product.
§ Mr. GowInternational differences in house building costs, population growth and internal migration affect comparisons of this kind.
The available information is given in the table.
Residential construction as a percentage of GDP in 1982 Country Percentage Belgium 3.5 Denmark 3.5 France 5.3 Germany (Federal Republic) 6.1 Greece 5.3 Ireland 5.4 Italy 5.3 Luxembourg 4.9 Netherlands 5.2 United Kingdom *3.4 Canada 3.5 United States 3.0 * Including expenditure on major improvements for residential properties. In 1983 expenditure in the United Kingdom on residential construction as a percentage of GDP increased to 3.6 per cent.