asked the Minister of Health how many forms of building contract are in use among local authorities; and how many of these forms are peculiar to a single local authority.

I regret that the information asked for by the hon. Member is not available, but local authorities have been advised to base their contracts upon standard forms produced by the Ministry of Works (CCC/Wks/1) or by the Royal Institute of British Architects.

Is it not possible to take steps to try to find out this information? Would the Minister not agree that if local authorities are wedded, as in many cases they are, to their own particular forms, it does arrest the progress of house building?

I would consider it desirable to ask local authorities to make these returns if I were convinced that it postponed house building, but as local authorities have already put 100,000 more houses into contract than the building industry is able to start, that hardly delays the completion of houses.