asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the current amount of work of local authorities carried out by direct labour and private contract, respectively; and if he will express the figures as a percentage in each case of the total local authority expenditure in England and Wales.
[pursuant to his reply, 8 March 1982, c. 339.]: The available estimates for the financial year 1980–81 for local authorities in England and Wales are as follows:
| Work done by DLO's* £ million | Total Expenditure † £ million | |
| New construction work: | ||
| Housing | 80 | l,600 |
| Non-housing | 1,201 | 1,500 |
| Repair and maintenance: | ||
| Housing | 700 | 900 |
| Non-housing | 780 | Not available |
Sources:
* DLO returns—value of construction work done.
† New construction—capital payments return repairs and maintenance—Housing revenue account.
Estimates of the work done by private contractors for local authorities are not available. The difference between total local authority expenditure and work done by DLO's does not represent work done by contractors for local authorities since the figures are not constructed on a comparable basis.