asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what is his estimate of the number of housing starts for 1980 in both the public and private sectors.

In the public sector it will be for individual authorities to decide what amount of their housing investment programme allocation, which will be in a single block as from 1980–81, they use for new building. The number of starts in the private sector will depend on assessments by the house builders of the numbers of houses they can build and sell.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment how many council houses were started for the whole of Great Britain in the 12 months to the latest available date; what was the figure for the previous 12 months; and what action he is taking to improve the number of starts undertaken in the next 12-month period.

I am responsible for the allocation of resources for council house building in England only. However, in the year ending 30 November 1979, 63,047 council houses were started in Great Britain compared with 87,811 in the preceeding 12-month period. Within their housing investment programme allocations, it is for local authorities to

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment how many starts have been made in the private and public housing sector this year; and what estimate he has made for total housing starts in 1980–81, 1981–82 and 1982–83.

In England in the 12 months ending 30 November 1979, the latest period for which figures are available, 118,888 new houses were started in the private sector and 67,427 in the public sector.In the public sector it will be for individual authorities to decide what amount of their housing investment programme allocation, which will be in a single block as from 1980–81, they use for new building. The number of starts in the private sector will depend on assessments by the house builders of the numbers of houses they can build and sell.